David Miliband

Foreign Secretary

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Saturday 03 January, 2009

Holiday that wasn't

The explosion of violence in Gaza has led to massive loss of civilian life and put into stark relief the political process that has been too slow to forestall the descent into violence after the end,  on December 19,  of the six month break in fighting (which itself was far from obeyed).  The focus of diplomatic activity involving the Prime Minister and myself has been to build the conditions for an immediate and sustainable end to Hamas and other rockets and to Israeli military activity.  Our public statements are here  and my interview with the Today programme here.

But for an insight into the human dimension to the tragedy facing ordinary Gazans,  I have spoken to locally employed staff of the Foreign Office who provide representation for Britain and consular assistance to British national and dual nationals there.  They are amazing professionals who are endeavouring to go about their work in the most difficult conditions - a war zone in which they fear for their own families' safety as well as their own. They presented a picture to me of extreme distress: food shortages alongside destroyed buildings. I am proud of their work and tried to convey to them the efforts being made to bring some relief.

Posted at 17:11 03 January 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[22]

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I hope you will take action against such a clear act of aggression by Israel. It may help reduce my cynicism, which grew to huge proportions following the farce that was the invasion of Iraq to look for ‘WMD’. As neither Tony Blair or any member of the cabinet who took that decision has ever apologised for lying and for embroiling Britain in a senseless war perhaps you could take some action that will restore my faith in our political process. I know he’s dead and gone but Robin Cook did promise that Labour would follow an ethical foreign policy. So please do so and stand up for the underdog against Israel backed by America – and sad to say – Britain too.

Posted by Disillusioned voter on January 03, 2009 at 09:14 PM GMT #

Mr. Milliband Please tell me why the British public should be bothered to vote at the next election. Why is it once politicians get elected, they completely disregard the great public's opinion. We have seen it before the Iraqi invasion, now we are seeing the great displeasure of the British public and the world at large. When are politicians going to realize, democracy and British sense of fair play is being destroyed by all this blatant injustice and double standards. No one in the world can take America and UK, for that matter any western democracies seriously when they wag their finger at the likes of Zimbabwe, Sudan. Burma, when they themselves are being implicated for the support of barbarous things that we are seeing in Gaza, Somalia etc. All I say is, grow a spine, standup for what our country stood up for centuries. I implore to your intelligence and your sense of justice. I hope the exit of the Bush administration will improve things.

Posted by Simon on January 04, 2009 at 04:35 AM GMT #

The tragedy facing ordinary Gazans began not just today or yesterday. It is already several years since Israel left Gaza. What happened then? Do Palestinians grow flowers and fruits; try to build their own economy? No, they produce missiles; they buy weapons for the money they receive from Europeans and Israel. Terrorists shot peaceful people and get sheltered by the ordinary Gazans. Ordinary Gazans elected Hamas and breed hatred to Israel in their children. Tragedy is rather unpredictable and unavoidable. Here we see rational or irrational but their own choice.

Posted by Dan on January 04, 2009 at 11:50 AM GMT #

Mr. Minister, I'd like to advise you to be less biassed. Where have you been for the last 8 years as Hamas has been firing rockets and missiles at Israeli cities? It's totally unacceptable to equate Hamas actions aimed to hurt as much civilians as possible 70-80 rockets per day after they unilaterally refused to prolong the truce arrangement to Israeli defensive operation against the terror military organization. Any sovereign state has right to defense its borders and citizens and the Israeli army does everything in its power in order not to hurt civilian population in Gaza. Unfortunately it isn't always possible. Why don't you also speak about humanitarian aid to the citizens of southern Israel, as hundreds of thousands people have to sit in bomb shelters there, shops are closed and children can't go to schools? Hope, the British position will be more impartial like the U.S. or German

Posted by Felix on January 04, 2009 at 08:24 PM GMT #

Our government has been far from bold or imaginative in this conflict. Government after government has rolled out the same old arguments and executed the same tired formulae. Two-state blah-blah, land-for-peace, peace 'process'... What will you do that'll change the equation in the region? What will you do to shape events rather than blandly react? Show some leadership. Restore our moral credibility as a global power. Show us the ethical foreign policy we were promised. Fix it.

Posted by Imran Ali on January 05, 2009 at 12:58 AM GMT #

Today we hear that 500 Palestinians have died since the Israelis mounted their current offensive. And the British Government does nothing and says nothing, thus condoning action that would never be tolerated if taken by any other state. No-one likes Hamas; all western governments and many Middle Eastern ones, are united in their distaste for their principles and methods. Although very few Israelis have died, Hamas rocket fire presents a real and continiung risk. But that does not justify the slaughter that is going on. The indiscriminate killing of a civilian population in order to achieve a military objective is utterlu unnacceptable. It is at best a gross breach of human rights, and possibly falls within the legal definition of war crime. If you look at the letters pages you will understand that the pitifully limp reaction of the British government is at odds with the views of many of the electorate. I was a life-long Labour supporter; I hoped that this governement would prove better than Tony Blair. I am ashamed that I ever voted Labour. And as a pensioner it really hurts to say that I am ashamed of being British.

Posted by Frankie Pidd on January 05, 2009 at 10:22 AM GMT #

Using artillery to shell civilian built up areas and hospitals is a war crime... it can't be self-defense, and it involves blatant disregard for civilians. The Israeli military and government are completely out of control. The UK should respond to the ongoing atrocities by an economic boycott against Israel. Israel should be treated as a pariah state like Zimbabwe.

Posted by Robert Leech on January 05, 2009 at 04:32 PM GMT #

In December, Mr Milliband along with the other EU Member States' foreign ministers voted to upgrade relations with Israel. Now, within one month, Israel has launched it's current full-scale military attack on Gaza, killing hundreds and wounding thousands, further deepening the spiral of violence in the region and showing how little it cares for the meaningless statements of 'concern' and the policy of 'constructive engagement' put forward by EU leaders. Meanwhile, the upgrade of the EU's relations with Israel continues with the drafting of the 'EU-Israel Action Plan', with which the EU is effectively rewarding Israel and granting it full impunity for its war crimes in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. Please Mr Milliband, demand that there be “No New EU-Israel Action Plan” until Israel complies with international law and Palestinian human rights.

Posted by Jeffrey W Anderson on January 06, 2009 at 01:20 AM GMT #

Mr Milliband, I implore you the British Government to put an end to this massacre in Gaza. How many more days do we have to witness the slaughter of innocent women and children? Western governments have allowed Israel to be a state above international law. Why was the blockade of Gaza allowed to continue for the past two years? Failure of the west to act then has led to the carnage we are now all witnessing. As a British muslim my great fear that, in the aftermath of all of this ,there will be those that will exploit the situation and radicalise young muslims all over the world and we in the UK will become the targets for their hatred of Israel. I therefore urge you and the British Government to distance yourself from the inert US reaction to the crisis and take a more vocal and proactive reponse and to use language that the Israelis will understand -like economic boycott, genocide. war crimes.

Posted by Shiela Ruhomauly on January 06, 2009 at 10:03 PM GMT #

Israel should be put on trial for war crimes. Enough is enough! you are well aware of israel crimes against the Palestinians

Posted by Fahim qureshi on January 06, 2009 at 10:58 PM GMT #

Mr Milliband, When are we going to hear and see some real leadership from you and Prime Minister, with the ongoing genocide in Gaza? Your silence is hurting my ears and I can not understand why you have taken the side of the aggressor, Israel in this conflict. For peace to occur Israel needs to respect the UN resolutions and treat Arab citizens as their own and not as second class. Can we have some real action from yourself once rather than spinning further words and fanning the flames of extremism.

Posted by Hanif Rehman on January 06, 2009 at 11:56 PM GMT #

Dear Mr Milliband, Please could you take up the issue as to why the UN is permitting schools that it runs in Gaza to be used by members of Hamas to fire rockets and mortars. This brings into question the neutrality of the UN if it is permitting Hamas to use UN-operated premises for non-peaceful means. thank you

Posted by Barry Shine on January 07, 2009 at 05:07 PM GMT #

David, Please condemn the actions of Israel in Gaza. The wholly disproportionate use of overwhelming force by Israel against a trapped, civilian population in Gaza is without any justification, will lead to nothing positive not a safer Israel and must be condemned. I am appalled that our government – neither PM nor you as foreign secretary have condemned the Israeli action or threatened diplomatic and trade sanctions against Israel as, rightly, has Nick Clegg of the Lib Dems. Without such a condemnation of what includes clear war crimes e.g. bombing of a UN protected school flying UN flag I fear that Muslim youth here and elsewhere will turn to fundamentalist organisations when they see their legitimate political representatives virtually silent here. Israel must be condemned now and threatened with sanctions.

Posted by Ian Fairbairn on January 08, 2009 at 10:00 AM GMT #

Israel is continually fighting a war for its very existence. Israel's sovereign Arab neighbors to the South & East Egypt & Jordan have in recent years signed peace agreements with her, and the Fatah Government of the autonomous Palestinian West Bank is also in the process of a negotiated settlement based on a Palestinian independent state alongside Israel. On the other hand many extreme or radical Islamic countries such as Iran and their surrogates such as Hizbullah, Moslem Brotherhood etc negate the right of the Jewish people to their own historical homeland wanting Islam to rule worldwide. The Hamas, the Islamic militant Palestinian movement of Gaza, has as it's stated aim the destruction of Israel .It has openly declared war by rocketing Israeli towns and settlements. Israel doesn't have to apologize to anyone for it's defensive military action against the Hamas and as for the resultant loss of civilian life-the Hamas are the war criminals for firing, shooting first and then hiding amongst civilians claiming "immunity" from retaliation.

Posted by Ken Handler on January 08, 2009 at 12:59 PM GMT #

Dear David, Please do something, anything. Words are no longer enough, if they have ever been. The fact that we awarded Shimon Peres an honourary knighthood in November when Israel was in the process of enforcing an illegal embargo of Gaza, was performing a collective punishment on innocent civilians, has erected an illegal wall, is in breach of so many UN resolutions, etc., etc is a national disgrace and fills me with great shame. Could we not revoke and withdraw that knighthood. That would at least be something.

Posted by Chris Crookes on January 09, 2009 at 09:06 AM GMT #

Dear Mr Miliband, I am by no means a bleeding heart liberal, however I have been appalled at the Israeli government’s callous slaughter of the Palestinian people of Gaza. I am also ashamed at the meaningless response from the UK. Fine but ineffective words at the UN are just a sham and are no longer enough to demonstrate our condemnation of Israeli barbarity. We should be leading the EU in applying sanctions against Israel. I understand Israel should not have to suffer terrorist attacks on its people but through its disproportionate and uncivilised actions they are no longer deserving of our support. We should be in the front line in calling for Israel to answer the charges of state terrorism and war crimes for which the evidence of their brutality is mounting daily. It must be made clear to Israelis that by taking these steps, they are walking away from the standards of civilised humanitarian society and into the ranks of a pariah terrorist state. Terence Lockyer

Posted by Terence Lockyer on January 10, 2009 at 03:20 PM GMT #

Could you explain to me what the "Responsibility to Protect" is actually supposed to signify when so many civilians are being slaughtered in Gaza, with the prospect of a lot more when the leafleted forthcoming offensive is unleashed?

Posted by OwenE2 on January 11, 2009 at 12:41 AM GMT #

Why oh why don't you publish the vast majority of the comment you receive! - Can I ask under the ambit of the freedom of information act how may comments you have received o this subject

Posted by Colin Wales on January 16, 2009 at 01:43 PM GMT #

I am extreemly happy to see a young man on this post with the hopes that he will play his role to bring peace in the world.Please do something, anything to stop the slaughter of the Palestinian people .

Posted by Raheel on January 17, 2009 at 03:48 AM GMT #

Dear David, I watched your conversation on NDTV, when u were in India & was impressed by your approach to present day problems. My question is how you feel that UK stands in support of USA even after so much of human rights violation in Iraq & Afghanistan by USA. Now USA has turned blind eye on civilian deaths in Gaza.

Posted by Mohd Danish on January 17, 2009 at 07:27 AM GMT #

Mr. Miliband: I know that the holidays were not the same...

Posted by DENNIS JUNIOR on January 22, 2009 at 07:15 AM GMT #

Mr Miliband i watched yr Interview on NDTV, when u were in India & was very impressed, i believe Who ever Faces Indian Media, Brings Best out of person.Congratulaation. I would like to draw yr Attention Regarding fees for 1st British passport for,' indefinite visa' is very high, in time of money crisis, how can middle class person who is hand to mouth can efford that high fee of £600 +life in uk test fee , so it comes to somewere £900, if earning is £800 after tax have to pay rent etc,even he is student he has his fee to pay etc so kindly look in to the matter I will be waiting to hear positive step. Keep it up we all see great politician in you thanking you micky G8

Posted by micky on January 25, 2009 at 04:53 AM GMT #

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