For the third week running, Highland – Palestine is organising a rally to ‘Stand with the people of Palestine’, calling for a ceasefire and the urgent provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
The event will take place this Saturday, 4th November, between 12.00 pm and 1.00 pm outside Inverness Town House.
Drew Hendry MP has agreed to speak at this week’s rally.
Drew has released a statement (see below) calling for a ‘humanitarian ceasefire’ and the opening of ‘aid routes into Gaza’.
More than 200 people have taken part so far in the two rallies at Inverness Town House.
They have heard speeches by, among others, local doctors with experience of the situation in Gaza, as well as local people with relatives who are directly affected.
One doctor who has regularly visited the West Bank and Gaza as part of a surgical training team, said”
“I want to tell you about one of the fine doctors at the Al Ahli Anglican hospital where we delivered courses last year.
“I’ve seen footage of the kids sheltering in their grounds before that awful explosion, playing games in a kids club in the morning and dead in the evening.
“This doctor lost family members in the IDF missile strike on the ancient St Porphyrius church nearby a day or so later, where lots of families were sheltering and lots were killed.
“When people from the Amos trust who support the hospital sent her video of the demonstrations here in the UK she said thank you, it was good to know that they are seen.
“Of course she also asked “but what about your government, why is it supporting this?”’
Thanks to the generosity of local people, the rallies have collected £580 in donations that has been shared between UNRWA and Medical Aid for Palestinians.
More than £700 has been sent directly to people living under bombardment inside Gaza.
The rally is calling once again for an immediate ceasefire and the urgent provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
For further information please contact Highland – Palestine at: highland.palestine@gmail.com
Statement on Gaza by Drew Hendry MP (29.10.2023)
Situation in Gaza
All human life is equal. Nobody has the right to conduct acts of war against civilians. When Hamas made their brutal and unforgivable terrorist incursion into Israel they were committing a crime against humanity. Whilst nobody disputes the right of Israel, or any nation, to defend itself from such actions, we are now seeing unimaginable suffering and mounting casualties amongst the innocent civilian population of Gaza. This cannot be described as a proportionate response.
A humanitarian ceasefire must urgently be called and I hope, that by the time you read this both the Prime Minister and Sir Keir Starmer have finally done the right thing in joining the calls for this overdue intervention. If they still haven’t, then shame on them.
In the words of First Minister Humza Yousaf, whose own family is trapped in Gaza: “How many more children need to die” before the world acts?
War is complex, and the conflict between Palestine and Israel is no exception. However, what is straightforward is the moral obligation we all have to demand a vital ceasefire.
Indiscriminate bombings and ground assaults against civilians in Gaza aren’t complicated; they are wrong. Innocent children, women, and men are being forced to pay with their lives. Life in Gaza must be a waking nightmare. The images we see daily show the utter destruction of these attacks. People are starving, running out of drinking water and severed essential communication networks have been cut off. This is by design as part of an indiscriminate military strategy.
The failure of the Prime Minister and Sir Keir Starmer to act is nothing short of a moral abdication of responsibility. Their failures to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, along with that of other global leaders, serves as a green light for Israel to continuing inhumanity. The UK Government’s abstention from a UN vote calling for a “humanitarian truce and the immediate, unconditional release of all captive civilians” is unfathomable.
We mourn the more than 1,400 Israelis who have been killed. We now mourn more than 7,000 Palestinians, see 1.4 million Palestinians displaced, and over 600,000 seeking refuge in UN-run facilities, the situation is dire. Hospitals cannot function as supplies of water, fuel, and medicine are virtually depleted, and humanitarian relief falls desperately short.
The moral duty is clear: we need a humanitarian ceasefire and open aid routes into Gaza. Silence is complicity, and both the Prime Minister and the man seeking to replace him are guilty of it. How many more children have to die?
Drew Hendry MP
