Israel is current attacking Gaza from the air, from the sea, and now from the ground, in an invasion that will have a heavy cost. Gaza is one of the most densly populated areas in the world and civilian casualties are inevitably rising fast.
Greens condemn all the violence, but note that the massively unequal struggle is resulting in about 100 Palestinians dying for every one Israeli.
Green Party members and councillors have today joined peaceful protests in the UK and across the world in calling for an end to the Gaza crisis. Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas MEP has called for the suspension of the EU's 'association agreement' with Israel, a trade agreement giving Israel preferential terms.
We demand an end to the Israeli military assault on Gaza. The only long term solution is to negotiate for peace and a lasting settlement that creates two viable states. Yet the Israeli action in Gaza is clearly counterproductive to the prospects for peace. The population of Gaza is already suffering grievously from the long-running Israeli blockade and siege, which has accelerated Gaza's decline into even greater hunger and poverty. Against this background, casualties among the civilian population only serve to make people more angry and sow the seeds for further violence.
As a prospective MEP, I condemn Israel's killings in Gaza (as well as the Hamas rocket attacks). Let us in 2009 start the slow and painful process of moving beyond the use of violence as a way of 'settling' international disputes.
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