Statement on the Crisis in Gaza and Call for a Ceasefire Now, October 2023

Propagate is a member of La Via Campesina, a global movement of landworkers and peasants struggling together for food sovereignty and agroecology.

We share here a statement from the اتحاد لجان العمل الزراعي (UAWC) Union of Agricultural Work Committees, a Palestinian organisation, and another member of La Via Campesina, on the effect of the Israeli blockade on food security:

“Historically, Gaza has been an epicenter of rich agricultural production, feeding not only its own residents but also serving as a vital food resource in the region. But the recent waves of Israeli aggression and sustained blockades have crippled this once-thriving sector. The disruption of essential imports, coupled with the inaccessibility to local farmlands due to conflict, has left the people of Gaza with dwindling food resources.”

We feel that we must also take this moment to talk about what is happening in Gaza within the broader context.

 Hamas's attacks and the deaths of over 1,400 Israeli citizens are heartbreaking, but this has occurred against the backdrop of over 60 years of trauma and suffering experienced by the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli state. 

The Israeli government is currently carrying out collective punishment on the civilians of Gaza for the actions of Hamas (  ). In recent weeks, nearly 7,000  Gazans have been killed, half of them children, and the death toll continues to rise daily. Hospitals are overflowing with the wounded and the dead, and electricity, fuel, clean water, and food are cut off. Doctors are carrying out operations with mobile phone torches and 1.4million people - almost two-thirds of Gaza's population – are now internally displaced within the Gaza strip.

Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2007 and the UK government continues to give Israel its support.

In order for peace to be built, governments and powerful organisations must stop supporting and funding Israel, and speak out for the rights of the Palestinian people.

Each and every death caused by this situation is a tragedy, be it Palestinian or Israeli.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

Write to your MP asking them to take action, using this template: https://docs.google.com/.../1fMtMYmzYdsW.../edit

Be persistent, and ask for a response.

Sign the petition calling for a ceasefire now here as well as this petition calling for a ceasefire and end to Israeli occupation here. 

Donate if you can: Palestinian Medical Relief Society, Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)- حركة الشباب الفلسطيني, Medical Aid for Palestinians. 

Join a demo or a fundraiser – follow Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign for updates.

Follow and amplify media which shows the truth of what is happening in Gaza:

Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK
Eye on Palestine
Standing Together
Jewish Voice for Peace
taltakingpics

Educate yourself: https://decolonizepalestine.com/

To find out more about movements for liberation through agroecology and food sovereignty in Palestine, visit https://growingpalestine.com/resources/ 

#endthesilence #stopgazagenocide #freepalestine #ceasefirenow

"Today, I say no genocide in my name … and no genocide in the name of our beloved dead. Let them rest in peace - Simha Toledano, a Jewish activist.

Propagate, 27th October 2023