Council leader condemns Israel’s ‘inhumane’ attack on Al Mawasi

The leader of Hastings Borough Council has condemned Israel’s bombing of a tented encampment of displaced families in Al Mawasi, Gaza as ‘inhumane’. HDPSC Chair, Katy Colley reports.

Julia Hilton, leader of the Green Party in the East Sussex town of Hastings, was responding to demands for action from a coalition of local groups in a statement (see below) released recently after the area was struck by five 2,000 bombs, killing 40 and leaving 30 foot craters in the sand.

Penned by Hastings & District Palestine Solidarity Campaign (HDPSC) and signed by the Hastings and District Trades Union Council, Hastings Jews for Justice, Amnesty International, Hastings & Bexhill and Hastings Friends of Al Mawasi among others, the statement stated: ‘People of conscience in Hastings and around the world have had enough of this slaughter.

‘We are sickened, enraged and determined to do everything in our power to stop any more innocent lives being taken. We demand our leaders do the same.’

Later that same day an emergency protest held outside Hastings Borough Council offices drew a crowd of 40 in the pouring rain, where HDPSC branch secretary Laurie Holden read a message from a friend in Al Mawasi who had survived the bombing.

The message read: ‘Our dear friends, we are fine, thank god. But we are in great pain because the massacre can only be described as genocide. There are entire families that have disappeared.

‘They are about a kilometre away from us but the place we are in rose from the ground and shook from the intensity of the bombing. Strange and very powerful bombs.’

Ahead of the protest, Council leader Hilton released a statement on behalf of the Hastings Green Group stating they were ‘shocked and saddened to hear of the attack on a designated safe zone in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.’

The statement went on to say that the Green Party now recognised the current Israeli government as an ‘apartheid’ state and that its military operations against the Palestinian people were acts of ‘genocide’.

It affirmed the party’s support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and stated the party would continue to press the UK government to suspend all arms export licenses to Israel.

‘We recognise that, for several years now, the local group, Hastings Friends of al-Mawasi, has been fostering a close partnership with residents in al-Mawasi,’ it said. ‘Recent funds raised by the people of Hastings have been sent directly to al-Mawasi, for tents and other basic essentials, to help the thousands of displaced people sheltering there.

‘We condemn the inhumane attack on this community, a supposed humanitarian safe zone, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of all who have been touched by this tragedy.’

The coalition had also reached out to the Labour MP for Hastings & Rye Helena Dollimore, but at the time of going to press, she had not responded.

It was heartening to see so many people come out at short notice on a rainy September evening to show their support and solidarity with the besieged and terrorised people of Al Mawasi. Nothing on earth can justify these massacres.

We welcome the statement from the leader of the council, condemning this latest atrocity, and look forward to those words being turned to action at a local and national level. However, it is disappointing that we have not yet heard from our MP at a time when so many in this constituency are heartbroken at the senseless slaughter.

Grace Lally from Hastings Friends of Al Mawasi said: ‘Hastings residents have been in constant contact with friends in Al-Mawasi over the last 11 months and were on a Zoom call only last Sunday. It has been deeply moving to see local people respond with empathy and generosity to the terrible plight of people in Palestine and we have raised tens of thousands of pounds to support the community there.

‘These are small but significant acts of solidarity at a time Gaza faces the possibility of complete annihilation.’

Full statement from Hastings Green Group:

Statement on Al-Mawasi Attack 10 Sep 2024

Councillor Julia Hilton, Leader of Hastings Borough Council and Councillor Glenn Haffenden, Deputy Leader of Hastings Borough Council, on behalf of the Hastings Green Group are shocked and saddened to hear of the attack on a designated safe zone in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis early this morning, claiming at least 19 lives and injuring dozens of others.

At our conference this weekend, the Green Party solidified its long-standing position on the side of peace and the upholding of international law. Our members voted overwhelmingly to pass a motion that recognises the current Israeli government as an ‘Apartheid’ state, and to name Israeli military operations as acts of ‘Genocide’, in accordance with international law. We are the only major political party to have done so.

The motion also affirms the Green Party’s support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement. Our MPs continue to press the UK government to suspend ALL arms export licenses to Israel.

We recognise that, for several years now, the local group, Hastings Friends of al-Mawasi, has been fostering a close partnership with residents in al-Mawasi. Recent funds raised by the people of Hastings have been sent directly to al-Mawasi, for tents and other basic essentials, to help the thousands of displaced people sheltering there.

We condemn the inhumane attack on this community, a supposed humanitarian safe zone, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of all who have been touched by this tragedy.

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