Labour MEP in Gaza as part of largest ever political delegation to the strip
Posted by Bronwen Maher on January 18, 2010 at 09:46 AM
The delegation includes over fifty MPs and MEPs from 12 separate countries and the visit has been organised by the NGO 'End the Siege on Gaza'.
Nessa Childers said: "A year on from the 2009 Israeli war on Gaza which saw the deaths of 1,400 people, Gaza is still being controlled by the Israelis. With a population of over one and a half million people in an area half the size of Co. Louth, residents continue to be denied the basic materials, and the food and medical care required for human survival and development as a direct result of the ongoing Israeli blockade.
"During my trip to Gaza I will visit refugee camps to meet with local families who have been affected by the ongoing situation. The majority of Gazans live in one of the eight UN-administered camps.
"The opportunity to meet with the former Prime Minister of the national unity government Ismail Haniya, which cannot be confirmed at this point due to security concerns, should be very useful in order to gain a deeper understanding the Palestinian perspective on Gaza's troubles.
“I will raise with the Hamas elected representatives the need to release Gilad Shallit, stop firing rockets into Israel, and reconciliation with Fateh so that elections can take place and negotiations can get under way.
“The European Parliament has been extremely pro-active on the Palestinian issue under the aegis of my colleague Proinsias De Rossa who is President of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council and I intend to report back to my Labour Party colleagues on my return.
Nessa Childers concluded, "The disastrous earthquake in Haiti earlier this week has once again highlighted the precarious state of life in many of the world's poorest regions, a category into which Gaza certainly falls. While the eyes of the world are correctly on the Caribbean island at this time, we must, as a global community, respond much more effectively both in practical and political terms to all ongoing humanitarian disaster areas, including that in Gaza."
