“IN OUR thousands in our millions we are all Palestinians.”

This is the chant that resonates with many of us and which we have witnessed in action recently. In the last two weeks we have seen huge demonstrations in London with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people. 

Last Saturday 300,000 people filled the streets of London and thousands more in cities across Britain and the world to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza. 

This is the biggest demonstration in support of the Palestinians in British history and has been recorded as one of the 10 largest marches in British history. The demonstration was diverse and vibrant, with representatives from people across our communities and our trade unions. 

Many of us will have watched in horror the events unfolding in Gaza and Palestine. We must condemn all attacks on civilians and we should be calling for an immediate ceasefire. 

The Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip over the past 19 days has seen 7,028 Palestinians killed with 66 per cent of these being women and children. More than 1,600 Palestinians, including 900 children, have been reported missing and are presumed to be trapped or dead under the rubble. 

Some 1.4 million people have been forcibly displaced, mass graves are already full, and the UN has reported that there are not enough body-bags in Gaza for the dead.  

At least 45 per cent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged since the start of the attack. Public buildings including schools, mosques and hospitals have been targeted including the al-Ahli hospital where more than 500 Palestinians were killed.

Israel has sealed the Gaza Strip completely and cut off all electricity, food, water and fuel from a population of which almost half are children. 

Vital services, including health and sanitation, are being pushed towards collapse. Hospitals are losing power, some have already been forced to close and clean water is running out. 

The Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza has been opened intermittently and in the past few days allowed 74 trucks of aid through, however Israel has refused to allow fuel to be sent in for generators. This is about 4 per cent of the daily imports into Gaza prior to the current hostilities. 

This is a fraction of what is needed following the 19 days of complete siege and will do little to relieve the humanitarian crisis on the ground.

These acts of collective punishment and indiscriminate killing are prohibited under international law. The Israeli government has said it plans a weeks-long brutal assault on the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents, including a ground invasion. Israeli politicians and military leaders are using genocidal language and threats. 

Palestinians inside Israel, the West Bank and East Jerusalem face a lockdown and a growing number have been killed by settlers and military personnel. 

In the West Bank 103 Palestinians have been killed, including 32 children. The unconditional endorsement of the actions by the Israeli government by various national governments, including the United States and Britain, render them complicit in the actions of the Netanyahu administration and culpable in the outcome.  

The present bloodshed has its roots firmly in the ongoing denial of the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood through the actions of successive Israeli governments, including the expansion of the illegal settlements, the seizure of Palestinian land, erecting roadblocks and the apartheid wall.

The trade union movement and civil society has a proud history of standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, recognising their right to self-determination. We know that only through the achievement of the rights of the Palestinian people will a lasting peace be achieved.

We need to continue to put pressure on our government to call for an immediate ceasefire, a complete end to the attacks on the Gaza Strip and for the siege to be lifted to allow essential humanitarian aid including food, fuel and medical supplies to reach the population. 

We must also call for them to stop the export of arms and military technology to Israel, which is already being used in illegal attacks against the Palestinian civilian population. 

Silence is not an option, Palestinians need our voices now more than ever. 

Louise Regan is vice-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.