As part of the Europe-wide campaign to highlight the issue of Palestinian MPs who have been abducted by the Israeli authorities, Baroness Jenny Tonge has had informal discussions with the Speaker of Britain’s House of Commons. Sixteen Palestinian MPs remain in Israeli custody, without charge. Baroness Tonge spoke to Speaker John Bercow, MP, about an invitation from the Palestinian Legislative Council to visit Gaza, meet fellow parliamentarians and see for himself the devastation caused by Israel’s disastrous invasion a year ago, in the hope that such a visit could be the first of many such links between the two parliaments. The Baroness visited Gaza herself last month as part of a delegation made up of national MPs and MEPs from across the European Union; the delegation included Sir Gerald Kaufman, the veteran Labour MP who has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli government.
During the delegation’s visit to Gaza last month, Jenny Tonge met the President of the International Campaign to free Abducted Palestinian MPs, Musheer Al-Masry, MP and Huda Naim, a member of the campaign. Baroness Tonge is the chair of the European Campaign Organisation seeking the release of the Palestinian MPs. She was briefed on the latest developments in the issue and discussed ways to challenge the Israeli government about the abduction of elected representatives by an occupying power.
Mr. Al-Masry sent letters to the various heads of the European Parliaments represented in the delegation urging them to make the abductions a real issue with the Israelis. Each letter was accompanied by a detailed file of the MPs in custody in Israel, including the date of their abduction.
During the European Delegation’s visit to Gaza, the members signed a document symbolising their support for the people of Palestine and their refusal to accept the violations of their fellow parliamentarians’ rights.