The EU MEPs are meeting on 10 March to debate the Goldstone Report. I have just sent them the letter below (through e-mail). Please write similar letters to your EU representatives.
Dear Robert Sturdy, Richard Howitt, David Campbell Bannerman, Stuart Agnew, Geoffrey Van Orden, Andrew Duff and Vicky Ford,
I understand that the European MEPs are meeting on the 10th of March to discuss the implementation of what is now known as the Goldstone report. As you know, the credentials of Justice Goldstone are impeccable, so much so that one of the Israeli ministers has called him ‘propaganda proof’.
I am writing to urge you to support the immediate and full implementation of the Goldstone Report, and demand accountability for all violations of international law committed by Israel in its war on Gaza. The Goldstone report clearly states that the purpose of the operation in Gaza was to “punish, humiliate and terrorise the civilian population” of Gaza and accuses Israel of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.
The Goldstone report follows on the heels of other reports of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B’tselem not to mention criticism from the International Red Cross who is normally silent in such matters, who have all condemned Israel for its action in Gaza and called it a grave breach of international law.
The immediate consequence of not accepting this report was made clear when Justice Goldstone said in his report to the UN, that every time a report is published and no action follows, this ‘emboldens Israel and her conviction of being untouchable’.
The broader consequences of inaction are likely to be further war crimes against Palestinians by Israel and a green light to every other state so inclined to treat the Geneva conventions and International law with impunity. Emboldened, Israel has already begun obstructing the work of Human Rights organisations and NGOs in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
I will also urge you to support the unconditional, immediate and sustained opening of the crossings into Gaza, including from the sea. Official visitors from EU countries, including the new High Representative Catherine Ashton, should routinely include Gaza when visiting the region, to see the devastating effects of the two and a half year old blockade of Gaza and Operation Cast Lead.
The collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, which was severely tightened after the parliamentary election in the PA, is inhumane and illegal and must end.
Yours sincerely,
