Letters to the press: Lebanon

Time for sanctions against Israel
Israel's hugely disproportionate response to the kidnapping of one soldier
Jim McGinley, May 2006

Time for sanctions against Israel
Israel's hugely disproportionate response to the kidnapping of one soldier - the killing of at least 60 Palestinians, the destruction of bridges and power plants as well as orchards and crops, the detention of members of the Palestinian cabinet, the bombing and shelling of government buildings as well as the houses of civilians - amounts to a series of war crimes. Israel is holding 9,600 Palestinian political prisoners, more than half of them without trial and almost 400 of whom are children and it is against that background that we must view the capture of Israeli soldiers. Today we have a blockade of Lebanon in response to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. The actions of the Israeli government are clearly in breach of international law. It is time for outright condemnation from the British government and for immediate sanctions from the international community.

Jim McGinley
Green Party (Wirral)
May 2006