UK lawmaker condemns Israeli ground attacks on Gaza

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - A British parliamentarian on Friday condemned Israel’s resumption of ground attacks on the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip.

Richard Burgon, a member of parliament for the opposition Labour Party in the northern city of Leeds, called on the government to condemn the dramatic escalation of violence by Israel and impose measures to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.

“The Israeli Army is now attacking the Gaza Strip with air and ground troops. The British Government must condemn this and it must act,” the opposition politician said in a statement on Twitter.

Burton called on the government to “suspend all arms sales to Israel, place sanctions on Israel for its violations of international law,” and “recognise the State of Palestine.”

The Labour MP’s condemnation and criticism of Israel and the UK government’s lackluster response to its brutal violence is the latest in a growing series of denouncements by lawmakers across the country.

Israeli forces in recent days have attacked Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, who were ordered to be evicted by an Israeli court.

The occupying forces also raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque during special night prayers in Ramadan.

The subsequent escalation of tensions resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, killing over 100 Palestinian citizens and injuring many more.

A number of residential towers in Gaza City have been destroyed by Israeli fighter jets, an act that could amount to a war crime.

Politicians from the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrat Party and the Irish Sinn Fein have also put aside their ideological differences to unite in their condemnation of the indiscriminate attacks.

Conservative Party MP Antony Higginbotham told a parliament session on Thursday that many of his constituents are "concerned by the proposed evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, the activities outside the al-Aqsa mosque and the events that we have seen in the last 36 hours."

Mary Lou McDonald, president of Sinn Fein, an Irish republican political party, said: “Israel continues to flout international law, evict Palestinian families, annex Palestinian land, brutalise and bombard Palestinian communities. The world can no longer stand idly by. The international community, the UN and Ireland must act."