Certain British MPs lash out at Israel for harassing Palestinians

Britain has warned the Israeli regime about using live ammunitions against Palestinians after a number of civilians were killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank by Israelis’ direct live fire.

Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi said there were “long-standing concerns about the manner in which the Israeli army polices the buffer zone between Israel and Gaza”.

Speaking in the House of Lords on Monday, she said national security adviser Sir Kim Darroch had raised the matter with Israelis during a visit to the [Occupied Territories] last month.

Baroness Warsi said officials at the British embassy in Tel Aviv had also spoken to the Israeli war ministry and national security council about the use of live ammunition.

Her comments were prompted by a question from Baroness Tonge, who said she was concerned by the “number of shootings at civilians and incursions into Gaza” by Israeli troops since the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, a new report published by the Arab Human Rights Organization UK is demanding justice for a group of four West Bank parliamentarians. The four officials, elected in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections of 2006 have fallen victim to continued Israeli aggressions including administrative detention and exile.

The Liberal Democrat peer, Baroness Tonge, hosted an event in the House of Lords to highlight the plight of the four Palestinian lawmakers.

“In the case of these parliamentarians, the western governments, particularly the U.S., and my country the UK, are famous for one thing, which is to bring democracy to other countries in the world. When we have the perfect democracy in action in Palestine in 2006, when there was a properly monitored election, monitored by European members of parliament, the result was not accepted because the wrong people won. Now, that’s an example of hypocrisy, not democracy”.

The sad irony is, any move to hold Israel to account for its mistreatment of Palestinians will be severely hampered by Tel Aviv’s close relationship with Washington, a position mirrored closely by London. It is now up to the people of those respective countries to force a change of policy.