Israeli Action in Lebanon
Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, has said that the continued action by Israel in Lebanon is approaching a war crime. Following the deaths of at least 54 people – many of whom where children – at Qana, Lebanon, she called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
Speaking in the House of Commons last week Diane Abbott told MPs that “an effective ceasefire is one where the shooting stops, and if the shooting had stopped days ago, many hundreds of Lebanese men, women and children would be still alive and uninjured, and perhaps half a million Lebanese would not still be fleeing for their lives.” Ms Abbott urged the British Government to demand a ceasefire from Israel, and to use its influence in Washington to put pressure on the Israelis.
Ms Abbott recognised that Israel has the right to defend itself and respond to the missile threats, but said: “it is not clear how killing hundreds of Lebanese civilians, forcing 500,000 people to flee, smashing the bridges and roads, blockading the port and smashing the capital, Beirut, will strengthen the Lebanese state and make Lebanon more stable.” She also stressed that “we must not forget the similarly distressing action still taking place in Gaza against the Palestinian population there.”
Ms Abbott told Ministers that “the action that Israel is taking in Lebanon looks increasingly less like an attack on a terrorist organisation and more like an attack on a nation”.
Ms Abbott went on to express deep concern about the impact on already strained relations between the West and the Arab world. She said: “there is the never ending war in Afghanistan, the increasing devastation of Iraq, where thousands of people are dying, the continuing death and destruction in Gaza and the bombing of Beirut. How does that look on the Arab street? How does that make the world a safer place?”
Ms Abbott today called on the Prime Minister to demand a ceasefire, and to stand up for the rights of the innocent victims of violence so that the bloodshed and tragedy can be halted immediately.
“The Lebanese once more find themselves the victims of others fighting wars on their lands.The world should stop the slaughter now, and hold the perpetrators to account”, concluded Ms Abbott.
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