Head of British diplomat David Lamy says Gaza’s US-backed aid distribution mechanism “doesn’t do a good job.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lamy has condemned Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, saying that if a ceasefire contract to end the war on Palestinian territory does not come to fruition, Britain can take further action against Israel.
Speaking to the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Ramie criticized Gaza’s new aid distribution mechanism through a US- and Israel-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
“We’re very clear that we don’t support the aid foundation that was established,” Lamy said. “We’re not doing a good job. Too many people are getting closer to starvation. Too many people have lost their lives. We’ve led the system set up worldwide to blame.”
Hundreds of Palestinians have been shot in Israeli fires while seeking GHF support over the past few weeks.
Asked by legislators if the “unbearable” situation in Gaza continues, Ramie said: “Yes, I will.”
Last month, the UK joined Australia, New Zealand and Norway, where Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben Gwil and Bezalel Smotrich incited violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
A few weeks ago, the UK had suspended talks on a free trade agreement with Israel over the Gaza blockade. And last year, London stopped exporting several arms to Israel.
While welcoming the move, some Palestinian rights proponents have criticized them as symbolic and have failed to impose serious consequences on Israel due to the obvious abuse of international humanitarian law.
On Tuesday, Ramie condemned the violence of settlers and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying they “fl international law.”
Pushing whether British pressure on Israel has led to the Israeli government change its behavior, Ramie admitted that the change was “not enough.” Still, he defended London records, including recent moves against Israel and support for the UN Relief and Labour Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
“I am very comfortable having a hard time finding another G7 partner and another allies across Europe that are doing more than this government has done,” he said.
Eventually, Ramie went down British upset in the Middle East and said she was “but one actor.”
The UK is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It is also a major trading partner in Israel. And according to many media reports, the British royal air force has implemented hundreds of surveillance flights through Gaza to help find Israeli prisoners of war on the territory.
The UK has also cracked down on Palestinian rights activists in their homes, recently banning advocacy groups’ Palestinian actions and arrested dozens of supporters.
The UK’s labor government does not recognize Palestine as a province. This is a move that several European countries have made over the past year.
Ramie said he hopes London will not just be a symbolic gesture but part of a concrete push towards a solution to the two states.
He added that Britain would like to recognize Palestine at a moment that will help to help change the dial towards a legitimate cause: dialling, violence, the fear we saw in Gaza and the desire for a Palestinian state.
But Emily Thornberry, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, warned Ramie that “nothing to recognize” if the UK continues to delay its decision to recognize Palestine.
“We should work to recognize the Palestinian state and ensure that it will happen in effect,” Thornbury said. “But as we continue to restrain it, it slides your fingers.”
