“Past aid missions have been intercepted by Israeli forces who illegally threatened, intimidated, unlawfully boarded the vessels, and detained the civilian crew. We are concerned that Israel is planning to treat this aid mission with similar hostility, putting the safety of British citizens at risk.”
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP has written a letter to the Foreign Secretary calling for the government to take a clear stance against Israel’s attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which has now been co-signed by more than 80 Parliamentarians. You can read the letter and its signatories in full below.
Dear Foreign Secretary,
We are writing with growing concern for the safety of the British citizens participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla aid mission to Gaza.
Past aid missions have been intercepted by Israeli forces who illegally threatened, intimidated, unlawfully boarded the vessels, and detained the civilian crew. We are concerned that Israel is planning to treat this aid mission with similar hostility, putting the safety of British citizens at risk.
We have already seen attempts to forcefully stop this aid mission, with vessels attacked by what are believed to be Israeli drones, causing a small blaze on two of the vessels. We are now seeing social media posts from the Israeli government suggesting the flotilla is being backed by Hamas. We are concerned that this may be laying the foreground for future hostility and possible violence towards the flotilla.
To be clear, the participants on the flotilla are journalists, healthcare professionals, aid workers and activists. They are not terrorists, nor do they pose a threat to Israel.
The safety and security of British citizens must be the primary concern of our government. We believe that any actions that threaten this must be clearly condemned. In addition, the right and duty of civil society to engage in peaceful humanitarian non-violent initiatives must be defended.
We are deeply concerned about the safety of those participating in the flotilla. We urge you to relay to your Israeli counterparts, in the strongest possible terms, that no harm must come to the flotilla or the British citizens on board.
Yours sincerely,
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Adnan Hussain MP
Andrew George MP
Andrew Ranger MP
Andy McDonald MP
Ann Davies MP
Apsana Begum MP
Baroness Blower
Baroness Chakrabarti
Barry Gardiner MP
Ben Lake MP
Ben Maguire MP
Brendan O’Hara MP
Brian Leishman MP
Carla Denyer MP
Caroline Voaden MP
Cat Eccles MP
Cat Smith MP
Cathal Mallaghan MP
Chris Hazzard MP
Chris Hinchliff MP
Chris Webb MP
Claire Hanna MP
Clive Lewis MP
Colum Eastwood MP
Dáire Hughes MP
Dame Chi Omwurah MP
Dawn Butler MP
Diane Abbott MP
Dr Allison Gardner MP
Dr Arthur Scott MP
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP
Dr Roz Savage MP
Dr Rupa Huq MP
Dr Simon Opher MP
Graham Leadbitter MP
Grahame Morris MP
Helen Maguire MP
Ian Byrne MP
Ian Lavery MP
Imran Hussain MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
John Finucane MP
John McDonnell MP
Jon Trickett MP
Josh Babarinde MP
Kate Osborne MP
Kim Johnson MP
Liz Saville-Roberts MP
Lizzi Collinge MP
Llinos Medi MP
Lord Hendy KC
Lorraine Beavers MP
Marie Goldman MP
Martin Rhodes MP
Mary Foy MP
Mike Martin MP
Mohammad Yasin MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Olivia Blake MP
Órfhlaith Begley MP
Pat Cullen MP
Patricia Ferguson MP
Paul Maskey MP
Paula Barker MP
Peter Lamb MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Richard Burgon MP
Richard Quigley MP
Sian Berry MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Steve Darling MP
Steve Witherden MP
Tonia Antoniazzi MP
Valerie Vaz MP
Vikki Slade MP
Warinder Juss MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Zarah Sultana MP
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy is the Member of Parliament for Clapham & Brixton Hill – you can follow her on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.
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