The no man's land separating Israel
from the Gaza Strip gives way to what can only be described as desecrated land.
Razor wire and crushed buildings line the route. Torn slabs of concrete look
like tattered cardboard on a rubbish heap. In front of us two Israeli tanks
block our path. Behind us, the border will shortly be sealed to prevent
Palestinian reprisals for the helicopter attack launched hours earlier against
the extremist Hamas leader, Abdul-Aziz al-Rantissi - who is still alive. A
Palestinian woman and her young child, on their way to hospital, are dead, and
35 are injured.
Later that afternoon we hurriedly leave the building we are in when a missile
lands nearby. As two British MPs travelling with Christian Aid, myself and Jenny
Tonge are alarmed. For Gaza residents this is business as usual. More than 1
million Palestinians live on this tiny piece of land (smaller than the Isle of
Wight) - more than three-quarters of on less than £1.30 a day. Life below the
poverty line for these Palestinians contrasts with the 5,000 Israeli settlers
who occupy one-third of the land and enjoy watered gardens, first world housing
and protection by the Israeli army. This protection means Palestinians wait for
hours - sometimes days - at Israeli checkpoints, trying to find work or get
access to essential services such as medical care.
The sun is setting on Gaza. From my hotel balcony I hear demonstrations in
the street below. It occurs to me that I can put on a headscarf and slip into
the crowd as a Palestinian. No one will guess I'm Jewish, still less that I'm a
British MP. The sounds lead me to the hospital where Rantissi is being treated.
Cars rush into the compound, horns blaring, people hanging out of windows. A man
carries an injured girl into the hospital. But most of the Palestinians just
stand waiting. They wait for Israelis to stamp their permits, and they wait for
a Palestinian state. They are no different from us: deny them human rights and
they will respond with unacceptable terrorist violence.
That's what Jews did when they set up the Stern Gang and blew up the King
David Hotel in the 1940s. Ninety-four people died. The leader of that terrorist
group, on Britain's "most wanted" list, went on to be the Israeli prime
minister. Many Jews revere him, even while they abhor the terrorism that ruins
their lives today. Israelis must be freed from terrorism - such as yesterday's
horrific attack in Jersualem. All terrorism, not least Palestinian terrorism, is
abhorrent. But it is also predictable. When the Israeli government chose Tuesday
to launch an attack in Gaza (as it did again after yesterday's bombing), it
cannot have been ignorant of its effect on the peace process and the certainty
of Palestinian reprisals.
The original founders of the Jewish state could surely not imagine the irony
facing Israel today: in escaping the ashes of the Holocaust, they have
incarcerated another people in a hell similar in its nature - though not its
extent - to the Warsaw ghetto.
Any visitor to the Palestinian ghetto can see the signs: residents are sealed
off and live under curfew; the authorities view torture as acceptable and use
collective punishment as a means of control; soldiers drive families from their
homes, confiscate property and demolish neighbourhoods; unemployment runs in
places at 80%, and utilities such as water are withheld; the economy has
"client" status, and is subservient to the occupiers in every way.
As the more powerful side in the dispute, Israel must break the cycle of
violence, comply with UN resolution 242 and withdraw from territories occupied
in 1967. As the occupying power, Israel must uphold the fourth Geneva convention
and end all collective punishments. Illegal settlements must be dismantled.
Repair of water, sewage, and other essential infrastructure should take place
immediately.
Just under 80% of all water resources in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are
redirected from Palestinians to Israelis. The international community has to
recognise the scale of the humanitarian disaster facing Palestinians and George
Bush must put greater pressure on Sharon to give meaning to the road map. Yes,
there are two sides to every story. But no story should hold within it the
horrors I have witnessed here, so similar in detail to humiliations suffered by
the Jews.
I have sadly come to the conclusion that, given the scale of the atrocities
and collective punishment waged by the Israelis against the Palestinians, I have
no choice but to boycott Israeli products. On reflection, whether Jewish or not,
you might decide to do the same.
· Oona King is Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow