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National Delegate Conference - June 2002 -
Composite L - Palestine
NEC statement on the Middle East 20th April 2002
Conference ISRAELI ATTACK ON GAZA NEC Resolution
Conference ISRAELI ATTACK ON GAZA
NEC Resolution
As
the recent death toll in Gaza rises to over 70, including at least 19
children, UNISON condemns the activities of the Israeli Army and calls
on the government of Israel to cease its violent and indiscriminate attack
on Gaza immediately. UNISON further condemns the demolition of homes and
the destruction of agricultural land, the main source of income in the
area.
With over 50 000 people trapped by the fighting, with electricity cut
off and water sources contaminated, the humanitarian situation is worsening
dramatically and therefore we call for a rapid end to this brutal attack
on the civilian population.
We call on both the Israelis and the Palestinians to return urgently to
the peace process, the only means by which Israel will be able to achieve
lasting security and the Palestinians will be able to achieve their objective
of an independent and democratic state.
We further call on the British government to exert pressure on the Israelis
to end their attacks and to use their influence within the European Union
and with the United States to bring the parties back to the negotiating
table. The NEC therefore instructs the General Secretary to write to the
Foreign Secretary to inform him of the terms of this resolution.
In solidarity with the people of Gaza, UNISON agrees to make a donation
to ‘Give Gaza’, an appeal for humanitarian relief supported
by the Palestinian General Delegation in London. The NEC further calls
on regions and branches to make donations to the appeal.
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National Delegate Conference - June 2002 -
Composite L - Palestine
This Conference expresses its deepest concern at the escalation and
continuing acts of violence in the Middle East, whoever the authors may
be. We believe that bloodshed will only cease when a degree of political
perspective and dialogue is restored. Only then will a satisfactory
solution be found to the Arab/Israeli conflict.
Conference notes with grave concern developments in the Occupied Territories
and Israel since 29th September 2000 and in particular:
1)The use by the Government of Israel of F16 fighters, helicopter gunships
and heavy artillery against the Palestinian people;
2)The deaths during the following 12 months of over 600 Palestinians killed
and the wounding of over 14,000;
3)The deaths of over 200 Israeli citizens and the wounding of 1,300 during
this same period;
4)The destruction of houses and olive groves, the closing of roads and
the blockading of all normal trade from the Occupied Territories of Gaza
and the West Bank;
5)That amongst Palestinians unemployment had reached 39 per cent in September
2001.
Conference expresses its support for:
a)The right to self-determination of the Palestinian people as expressed
in United Nations resolutions;
b)The right of return for the Palestinian people expressed in Article
13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and endorsed in UN General
Assembly Resolutions 3236 (1974) and 52/62 (1997);
c)The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from all
the territories occupied in 1967 as expressed in United Nations Security
Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
This Conference welcomes the statement last year by the Prime Minister
declaring his public support for the creation of a viable Palestinian
state in the context of "a just peace in which Israelis and Palestinians
live side by side, each in their own state, secure and able to prosper
and develop".
Conference calls upon the Government and international community to hold
the Government of Ariel Sharon unequivocally accountable for its policy
of violent repression and brute military force against a Palestinian civilian
population, during incursions by the Israeli army into Palestinian-controlled
territories in direct defiance of the US State Department's call on Israel
to withdraw.
We also call for an immediate end to the increased illegal settlement
activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
This Conference calls on the international community, and in particular
the United Kingdom, to take the lead in insisting that international law
be applied in the occupied territories and seek to facilitate through
intense diplomatic efforts the return to peace negotiations; and notes
that the failure to take action could result in the undermining and even
collapse of the Palestinian Authority accompanied by an inevitable and
dangerous further destabilisation in the region.
This Conference further calls upon the Government to immediately suspend
arms trading with Israel in the light of the above and notes that British
police forces including the Metropolitan Police are buying Israeli anti-tank
missiles, grenades, shells and military avionics; and further notes that
British military hardware continues to be sold to Israel and used against
Palestinians in defiance of United Kingdom export criteria.
Conference therefore resolves to:
i)Communicate these views to the Israeli Embassy and Government, the Palestinian
Authority, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Trades Union
Congress;
ii)Make contact with the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions
to establish what additional support can be provided to trades unionists
in the West Bank and Gaza;
iii)Further develop the already well-established links with appropriate
Palestinian unions;
iv)Continue to work with the Trade Union Friends of Palestine in support
of the above, and encourage regional and branch affiliations to the TUFP;
v)Call on the APF to work with the Labour Middle East Council, to promote
our policies within the Labour Party;
vi) Enter into discussions with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign about
closer
working relations which can serve to enhance UNISON's existing work programme.
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NEC
statement on the Middle East 20th April 2002
UNISON
expresses concern at the dramatic escalation of violence and the loss
of life in Israel and Palestine. We believe that the current dangerous
situation is a direct consequence of the abandonment of the peace process
and the invasion and reoccupation of Palestinian territories by the Israeli
army directed by Ariel Sharon. We condemn the Israeli Government for its
continuing policy of State terrorism in violation of UN resolutions and
international law.
UNISON believes that Israel's continuing offensive against Palestinian
targets will not stop the spate of suicide bombings against Israeli forces
and civilians. We condemn unreservedly the killing of innocent civilians
by suicide bombers and believe that there can be no justification whatsoever
for such acts, but we believe that they are fuelled by the deep frustration
and despair of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation,
and by the indiscriminate use of brute military force against innocent
civilians.
UNISON reaffirms its solidarity and support for the Palestine General
Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), expressing sorrow that the recent
bombings of Nablus caused great damage to the headquarters of the
PGFTU. We believe that the current military offensive and the humiliation
of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his people by a supposed democracy
is unacceptable, and we support fully the calls made by the United Nations,
the EU, the US President George W. Bush and Russia for Israel to withdraw
immediately from Palestinian territories.
We believe that it is ordinary people who are paying the true price of
conflict in the Middle East and innocent civilians on both sides who are
suffering. On the Israeli side, main cities remain empty, especially at
nights, and Israelis are afraid to go out unless it is absolutely necessary.
On the Palestinian side, in addition to the severe unemployment, and the
daily humiliation of the occupation further exacerbated by the recent
reoccupation of Palestinian towns and villages, there is now a mounting
humanitarian and human rights crisis in the West Bank.
UNISON expresses concern at the worsening humanitarian situation in the
Palestinian territories, where people lack water, medicines and food.
We support the recent UN call for Israel to respect humanitarian law and
allow full and unimpeded access to humanitarian organisations and services,
and international observers. We call for an immediate halt to British
arms sales to Israel, and we will approach other trade unions representing
those involved in the production and transport of arms and equipment to
the IDF, asking them to refuse to produce and transport these items to
Israel. In particular we will urge the British government
to use its influence within the EU and on the US administration to press
for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories and to
insist that Ariel Sharon participates in meaningful dialogue with the
Palestinian Authority. Furthermore, we demand the establishment of an
International Commission of Inquiry into allegations of human rights abuses,
including killings of civilians, by the Israeli army in Palestinian refugee
camps. We believe that disproportionate and excessive force has been used
by Israel and that civilians were not properly protected.
UNISON calls for an end to all violence and we renew our call for reconciliation
and for a negotiated political solution, which will allow Israel to live
in peace within secure pre-1967 borders and for the creation of a viable
independent Palestinian state, in accordance with UN resolutions 1397
and 1402, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The international
community must now demand that Israel comply with UN resolutions 242 and
338, which call for a full and permanent withdrawal from the Occupied
Territories, and must also insist that the refugee question be settled
in negotiations based on UN resolution 194, which recognises the right
of Palestinian refugees to return.
In the event that the government of Ariel Sharon continues its military
aggression and refuses to comply with UN resolutions, we call upon the
UK Government and the EU to instigate economic and trade sanctions against
the state of Israel. We believe that the UK must work for this aim in
all its international discussions about Palestine particularly with the
USA, and in the UN.
UNISON calls for a boycott of Israeli goods and services until such time
as the Israeli Government agrees to comply with UN resolutions and return
to the negotiating table. We will continue to communicate with the PGFTU
and liase with the Trade Union Friends of Palestine and the Labour Middle
East Council in setting out the future direction of this campaign. We
further call upon the TUC, STUC and the whole of the British trade union
movement to lend support to the UNWRA emergency appeal for the West Bank
and Gaza. UNISON will contribute to this appeal with an appropriate amount.
We also call upon the international community to bring pressure to bear
to bring an end to the continuing cycle of violence in the region and
to reinvigorate the search for a peaceful solution in the Middle East.
We reaffirm our position of opposition to escalating the military action
against Iraq, as we believe that this will only serve to exacerbate tensions
in the Middle East and create further instability and chaos.
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Dedicated to the memory of
Dr Yousef Allan
1952-2001