By IRNA
London : British trade unions are urging the nternational community to demand that Israeli regime lift its inhumane siege of Gaza, saying that there can be no justification for “collective punishment.
“We call on the international community, and in particular the UK Government and the European Union, to set aside differences and press for an end to the blockade,” the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said.
The siege, the TUC said, was “collective punishment and has significantly worsened the situation for the 1.5 million people – men, women and children – living there.”
“On top of the mass unemployment and poverty which has left Gaza’s economy in ruins and the population dependent on aid, the recent blockade has caused further, life threatening power cuts, shortages of water, food and other essentials.
The TUC, representing nearly 7 million British workers in 66 affiliated unions, also said there must be the withdrawal of Israeli forces and settlements from the West Bank, the demolition of the wall and the removal of travel restrictions on Palestinians.
The British government has so far refused to condemn Israel’s siege of Gaza, which has included a ban on fuel supplies, and instead has implicitly supporting the Zionist regime in insisting that it is a security issue.
“The government continues to believe that Israeli security and Palestinian suffering and hardship need to be addressed together,” Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown said in the UK’s last statement on January 28.