50 years of Occupation must end

50 years of Occupation must end

5 June 2017 marks 50 years of Occupation for Palestinians in the West Bank including East Jersualem and the Gaza Strip.

These five decades have seen daily violations of international law, the setting up of over 200 illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a settler population of over 600,000 and a network of obstacles to Palestinian movement and basic services.

The Occupation has entailed gross abuses of human rights, including torture, detention without trial and use of human shields and shoot-to-kill policies.

Above all, it has been 50 years of collective punishment and collective denial of Palestinian national rights to self-determination.

The Gaza Strip remains occupied and under and intense siege that it has rendered its population largely dependent on aid and brought about a situation in which the UN says Gaza is unliveable by 2020. The fragmentation of Palestinians is no clearer than between Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The international community has collectively failed to end the Occupation, and given the current rate and lack of political will, the Occupation looks likely to last for another fifty years. The UK in particular has a moral obligation to assist in bringing and end to the Occupation, to ensure that Palestinians are not denied basic rights, do not endure blockade and separation, and to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its daily violations of international law.

Caabu director Chris Doyle said:

“Every single aspect of Palestinian daily life is shaped by the Israeli military Occupation, from getting to school or hospital, to giving birth, or even visiting relatives. No people should ever be expected to endure such prolonged hardship and denial of rights.”

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For more information or interviews contact Chris Doyle, on + 44207 832 1321 or +447968 040281.