A group of universally respected aid agencies have criticised the world community for ignoring the plight of the Palestinians under occupation, and letting the injustice of the Israeli siege continue.
Exactly a year ago today, Israel began a month of sustained and brutal bombing of one of the most densely populated parts of the world - a place already under siege - a place like an open air prison camp - Gaza.
Now, a year on, Gaza remains in ruins, with thousands of people homeless, and widespread health problems - from malnutrition to post-traumatic stress disorder in children. The Israelis are blocking not only the import of building materials to rebuild ordinary Palestinians' homes, but also the import of spare parts for maintenance and repair of the water and sewage treatment facilities. These cannot function. The World Health Organisation reports that over 80% of Gaza's water is no longer safe to drink, while up to 80 million cubic litres of untreated or partially treated sewage is being dumped into the sea daily.
If you are concerned for the Palestinians' suffering, please write to your elected representative, and/or donate money to the charity - Medical Aid for Palestinians, which is a UK registered charity committed to non-violence. Also on the MAP website, you can sign an open letter to Gordon Brown, asking him to put pressure on the Israelis to lift the blockade.
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