When the Handala was attacked and boarded by Israeli occupation troops, and its crew abducted, I wrote to my MP asking her how the government is supposed to respond to acts of piracy. Just as when the Madleen was attacked, she responded with a letter full of her opinions about Israel / Palestine.

Here is my reply to her letter, with some quotes from hers, so you can see what I’m responding to…

Dear Helena Dollimore,

Thank you for your reply to my email about the latest Israeli act of piracy. I did see a bit in the middle that I thought might be your answer to my question, but just to be sure, I’ve gone through your letter bit by bit.

“In the year and a half following Hamas’ atrocious terror attack on 7^th October 2023…”

You always frame your comments that way, don’t you? Is it because that was the day you first became officially ‘shocked’ and ‘horrified’ by what’s going on in Israel / Palestine? Tell you what, let’s try an experiment. From now on, let’s start our letters “since the atrocious terror attack on 26^th February 2023”, or we could choose another date, because it’s not that unusual is it, for an Israeli mob, accompanied by Israeli military, to attack, shoot, burn, kill, Palestinians, and destroy their homes, is it? What’s so special about 7^th October 2023? Was it that that day frightened Israel, and therefore frightened you?

Or was it because this time, when the Israeli military came back on duty (about 3 hours after the attack began) they torched everything in the area with their helicopter gun-ships, so that there were lots of Israeli victims, as well as the usual toll of Palestinian lives?

“…it has been horrifying to watch ceasefire agreements break down…”

Have you not noticed that through all those, ‘ceasefires’ and ‘pauses’, the Israeli occupation force NEVER stopped shooting at Palestinians, either in Gaza or in the Westbank? So no, I’m not particularly horrified when ‘ceasefires’ like that break down (ie, the world admits Israel’s still shooting Palestinians.)

“This unacceptable blockade…”

Do you know when Israel STARTED blockading Gaza? It was in 2007. Do you know why Gaza needs aid, Helena? Because Israel has NEVER not for ONE DAY ever allowed enough goods or people in and out of Gaza for it to function normally.

“…and so the appalling attacks on aid workers, hospitals and schools must be properly investigated by the UN and international courts.” 

If you really think that, why are you not demanding that our government stop hosting and protecting Israeli war criminals?

“I saw first-hand the danger that many humanitarian workers put themselves in to save lives and I will always support the vital work that they do in every way that I can.” 

Has it occurred to you, Helena, to join us in petitioning our terrible government to stop arming Israel? Where do you think Israel gets its hardware from that it uses to kill aid workers?

“The Labour Government also recently reached an agreement with Project Pure Hope to bring injured children from Gaza to the UK to receive much needed medical support here in the UK.”

I believe you’ve managed three so far, in 21 months. How many do you think you’ll manage in the next year or so?

“The British Government supports and respects the independence of the International Court, and we are fully committed to upholding international law…”

Helena you KNOW that’s not true. If it was, the government would not be harbouring Israeli war criminals, nor would it have used the RAF to assist the Israeli occupation force.

“Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law…”

That’s a bit weird because a couple of paragraphs up, you said “It is important that the international courts are left to rule where international humanitarian law is breached.” You said that’s not something politicians should do, and yet now you’re managing to recognise a breach yourself.

….

Hang on, is that your answer to my question about the acts of piracy that we’ve been reporting? Are you saying that the government never notices or reacts to the boarding of ships in international waters, the abduction of their crews and theft of their cargoes, unless the international court specifically points out that it’s piracy?

….

“This plan would create 3000 houses to the east of Jerusalem and would divide a Palestinian state in two, marking a clear breach of international law” – oh, there you go again – you see, you CAN tell when there’s a clear breach of international law, so if you try really hard, you should be able to recognise the illegal occupation, torture and detention, targeting of civilians and countless other war crimes, as well as the two recent acts of piracy which, put together, are the on-going national policy of Israel, walking all over the law.

“It is my view that Israel should end its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as rapidly as possible.” 

How rapidly do you think is possible, Helena? How many years is it? Do you think perhaps that’s why Hamas lost patience a year or so back?

“The UK Government is committed to recognising a Palestinian state”

Well that’s funny because Keir Starmer just stated it as a conditional – a sort of threat to Israel. Is the government committed to it, or not?

“involving the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas…”

Hamas have repeatedly offered to step down, so you can stop fretting about that but why are you foisting the PA on Palestinians? Don’t you think they have the right to self-determination? Why do you get to decide who is their next government?

“I believe it is deeply important that we do not let antisemitism and islamophobia take root in our community…”

I sincerely hope you’re not implying that’s what the ‘conflict’ you keep talking about is caused by, or that that’s what drives our opposition to genocide and apartheid. Perhaps this would be a good point for me to tell you something I learned recently – there are more Christian Zionists in the United States than there are Jewish people in the WHOLE WORLD, and not all Jews are Zionists, and meanwhile, so-called Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia have done nothing for Palestine, so it’s time to stop foisting this situation on Jewish and Muslim people.

And have you not noticed that Israel has destroyed Christian and other religions’ communities and places of worship in Gaza? This is not a religion based ‘conflict’, it is an illegal occupation and a genocide, based on the desire of a deeply racist, apartheid state to steal someone else’s land. If you’re still having trouble believing that, ask yourself why, of all the flotilla crew members Israel have abducted, this is the guy the Israeli military chose to seriously beat up…

“…a two state solution, with a Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel…”

This is the most disgusting thing you’ve said throughout this man-made catastrophe. Did you forget to mention that Palestinians might like to be safe and secure, or is it that you know Palestinians are never going to be safe ‘alongside a safe and secure Israel’?

We need to put an end to the apartheid state, and we will – just like we did apartheid South Africa.

“…a two-state solution remains the only path to a just and lasting peace”

Would you care to take a look at any other place on earth where the UK and its allies have drawn a line and said to the peoples they’d been mistreating, ‘you stay on that side and you stay on that’? which of those cases of partition resulted in ‘a just and lasting peace’? And why on earth do you want to preserve Israel’s apartheid state? Why can’t you aspire to a proper, modern country, where people are not divided according to race or religion? If you can’t, then tell me this: where would you put the Christians, the Arab Jews and the citizens who don’t subscribe to any religion in your two state solution?

And finally, may I draw your attention to the fact that your letter is a reply to an email I sent you because I had (again) reported an act of piracy to the Foreign Office, and my question to you was ‘how is the government supposed to respond to acts of piracy?’ I even included some screenshots, so you couldn’t possibly not know it had really happened.

 Could you answer my question now, please?

Yours sincerely,

Kay Green

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