The Israeli government have amassed troops on the outskirts of Gaza and are moving into Rafah, threatening invasion to rescue one Israeli soldier taken hostage on Sunday 25th June.

There are currently 300 Palestinian children (under 18’s) and 100 Palestinian women being held hostages in Israeli prisons. They are among 9,000 Palestinians being held, many of whom are in administrative detention – i.e. without trial or charges. However Israeli leader Ehud Olmert says negotiations ‘are not on the agenda’.

The Israeli army have killed 50 Palestinians since the beginning of this month. Any invasion will inevitably lead to many more Palestinians casualties. Since last night the Israeli army has destroyed the electricity supplies of over half of the Gaza Strip and is tightening its closure and strangulation of the area, thus committing an illegal act of collective punishment on the Palestinian Population. The situation is sure to get worse as Israeli tanks move into densely populated civilian areas, that have already suffered heavily from several months of daily shelling and closures.

The PSC is calling for a vigil against Israeli War Crimes and in support of Palestinian Human Rights this Friday (30th June) from 5:30 to 7pm in Parliament Square. We call on all supporters of Palestine to make their presence known in this current emergency.

We would also like to ask you to please contact your MPs and ask them to protest at the attack on Gaza, to ask questions in Parliament and to the Foreign Office. The FO can be contacted directly too, as the actions of the Israeli State contravene International Law and the UK must stop these war crimes from happening.

For your MP:

http://www.upmystreet.com/commons/l/

and: 0207 219 3000

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH

Tel: 020 7008 1500

Fax: 020 7008 2144