Embassy of the State of Palestine

In a press statement The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine welcomes the joint declaration, issued by prominent legal experts from countries around the world regarding the wanton killing and destruction committed against our people in the Gaza Strip on 27 July 2014. The experts denounced the grave violations and disrespect of the most basic principles of international law and of the fundamental human rights of the entire Palestinian population, committed by Israel, the occupying Power, during its ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip. They further reminded of the legal assessment that indiscriminate attacks against civilians is not only illegal under international law but also morally intolerable.

In his letter to UN secretary General President Abbas declares the Gaza Strip a disaster area and urges the secretary General to act with all the means available to him in the UN system to ensure that this injustice ends and that the Palestinian people are provided with the protection they are entitled to

ActionAid Australia sends an open letter calling on Julie Bishop, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to take a strong international stance to promote Palestinian women’s rights in the current conflict.
They wrote: In conflicts like this, women and children are always the most affected. We need to let the Australian Government know that it must use its influence in the United Nations Security Council to ensure that women are not forgotten.

UNRWA's Commissioner General said in a statement: "Last night, children were killed as they slept next to their parents on the floor of a classroom in a UN designated shelter in Gaza. Children killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced.
We have moved beyond the realm of humanitarian action alone. We are in the realm of accountability. I call on the international community to take deliberate international political action to put an immediate end to the continuing carnage.

A letter signed by Australian Politicians stated: "We the undersigned members of Australian federal and state parliaments, call on all Australian politicians to condemn the ongoing Israeli military bombardment and invasion of Gaza.

We call on Australian politicians to support an immediate cessation of hostilities and a ceasefire deal which includes an end to Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories and to the blockade of Gaza".

We call on all Australian politicians to also support the United Nations Human Rights Council's decision to launch an independent inquiry into purported violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The Security Council expressed its grave concern regarding the deterioration in the situation in the Middle East as a result of the crisis related to Gaza and the loss of civilian lives and casualties.

The Israeli ground invasion in Gaza continued, injuring at least 4,620 people and taking the lives of over 43 Palestinians between midnight and the time of this report. The effects of Israeli bombardments can be seen in the lack of access to basic services whereby at least 1,200,000 Palestinians had their electricity and water systems interrupted. Hospitals and medical centers continue to be targeted by Israeli forces as well as the Palestinian Civil
Defense (firefighters). Over 140,000 people have been forcibly displaced.

The scenes of carnage and human suffering that we witnessed today at our elementary school in Beit Hanoun were so appalling and intolerable, that it is difficult to find the words to convey adequately my indignation. As has happened so many times in this pitiless conflict, civilians are paying the highest price of the current military escalation. I condemn this callous shelling and the extensive loss of life in the strongest possible terms and call for an immediate investigation to ensure that circumstances and responsibilities are comprehensively and irrefutably established

"Australia's Muslim community is outraged at Israel's mass murder of civilians in Gaza.United in their grief and concern for the escalating conflict in Gaza, Muslim communities across Australia will hold a Prayer Vigil at 8pm tonight as they gather at mosques. It is expected that approximately 150,000 people across the country will join the Prayer VigiL The community is deeply disturbed by the Australian government's silence. Sixteen days on and the international community, including Australia, remains largely silent as the Israeli army continues its deadly assault on Gaza".

COMMENTARY: The international community must intervene to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, says the Palestinian chief negotiator, said Dr Saeb Erekat
He added: "An aggressor has no right to self-defence against an occupied people.What Israel is doing is defending its own occupation and the systematic denial of Palestinian national rights.
They are exercising every possible means to dissolve Palestinian national unity and weaken Palestinian institutions".