Write a commentNewry and Armagh MP Mickey Brady was part of a delegation of MPs who travelled to Jordan last week to discuss the plight of Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The Sinn Fein representative was joined by MPs from the SNP and Labour when he met the Jordanian King, members of the Jordanian Parliament, the Palestinian National Council in Amman and Palestinian refugees living in the country.
“This was an extremely worthwhile trip, especially in light of the recent upsurge of Israeli violations in Jerusalem and the West Bank that have resulted in the deaths of more than 130 Palestinians and the injury of thousands more,” he said.
“I was able to raise concerns about Israeli violations directly with King Abdullah and share our own experiences and lessons from the Irish Peace Process with him and members of his parliament.
“While we have heard much about refugees in recent months it is truly eye opening to meet people who have lived through such experiences and listen to their stories.
“What the Israelis are doing in Palestine is nothing short of a war crime and that is not an exaggeration. The displacement of Palestinians and the building of settlements on their land meets very clearly the definition of a war crime and every time Israel creates another settlement it is committing a new war crime.
“I was pleased to hear from King Abdullah and his parliament their concerns about Israeli actions and a commitment to do more to aid refugees on and within its borders.
“This situation would not be tolerated by the Western powers, including the US, Britain, Germany and France, if it were happening elsewhere. It is an indictment of these governments that they remain silent on these intolerable human rights violations by Israel.
“The international community must act, it simply cannot be a case of business as usual with Israel while it continues to flagrantly ignore a litany of UN Resolutions.”
