JEREMY CORBYN warns that, while the world ignores their plight, Gazans face disaster.
AMID all the fanfare surrounding Bush‘s visit to Jerusalem last week to meet Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and President Mahmoud Abbas, the media conveniently turned its gaze away from Gaza.
The appalling humanitarian tragedy there is of no interest to Bush and the neoconservatives - their strategy is to isolate the strip, refuse to deal with political leaders elected to represent its people and hope that the world‘s media looks the other way.
Mustafa Barghouti, the only independent member of the Palestine National Assembly, sent an urgent message to the world on Monday. "We are one people; we will not abandon Gaza."
On Sunday night, the Israeli blockade forced the strip‘s inadequate power generation system to finally close down for shortage of fuel. This means that 800,000 people are now living with no light or heating in the bitter cold of winter.
This is not just a temporary blip, but an exacerbation of a deepening problem.
Before the power shutdown, the sewage and water treatment plants were working sporadically at best. Now, they are not working at all. The callous and cruel closure of the border crossings with Israel means that no medicines or food is getting through either.
The problems of Gaza are not new. The border with Israel is sporadically closed anyway and unemployment is normally chronically high.
Even when the border is open, workers from Gaza are forced to endure the ritual humiliation of intensive searches and abuse twice a day as they go to Tel Aviv to work on construction or other manual jobs.
Even at "normal" times, unemployment stands at 50 per cent. Ever since the renewed restrictions, the jobless total has been over 80 per cent.
Attempts at economic generation in Gaza are thwarted by the border restrictions. Businesses making furniture or clothing simply cannot fulfil orders, as it is impossible to get their goods out. For farmers, the situation is even more perilous, as perishable goods rot at border crossings while Israeli guards look on.
Amid this tragedy of destruction and decay, the stench of death hangs heavy.
Dr Barghouti is not exaggerating when he describes the situation in Gaza as a war crime within the terms of Article 33 of the Geneva Convention, which specifically outlaws the kind of behaviour that Israel is committing.
The Annapolis agreement was supposed to be Bush‘s legacy. Like most US presidents, he sought to end his presidency by bringing "peace" to the Middle East. However, the Olmert and Abbas agreement to meet regularly hardly amounts to an easing of the suffering of people on the West Bank, never mind Gaza.
In fact, there is almost a conspiracy to ignore Gaza, as Israel increases military activity and bombardment. The figures since Annapolis are truly shocking.
Since November 28, when the two leaders and the world‘s media left Annopolis, the number killed in Palestine has risen by 219 per cent, with 146 dead, 496 injured.
Eight hundred and seven Palestinians have been captured by invading forces during 675 Israeli military attacks. Israel has lost two soldiers during this period.
The grim ratio of deaths between Palestinians and Israelis has risen from 49:1 to 72:1 over the same post-Annapolis period.
Israeli claims that it is not allowing a humitarian crisis to develop are simply not true. Olmert, when pressed, assures the world‘s media that it is allowing essential supplies to get through, thus admitting the existence of a blockade.
The Qassam rocket attacks launched from Gaza are wholly wrong. Attacking the civilian population of Israel will not bring peace. However, the number of such attacks has decreased rapidly and there can be no justification for the collective punishment wielded by the occupying power against the poor people of Gaza.
They are paying the price for taking part in the 2006 elections. For their pains, many of the parliamentarians elected in 2006 are now languishing in Israeli prisons. Those who have not been jailed have their movements restricted. Meanwhile, the huge volumes of Western aid going to the West Bank are denied to the people of Gaza.
Apart from being cruel and inhuman, the policy being pursued by Israel is counterproductive. Are the people of Gaza more likely to change their political allegiance as a result of bombardment and collective imprisonment?
Action needs to be taken now.
All possible pressure must be put on Israel to lift the blockade and ensure that basic supplies get through. The Bush-inspired strategy of collective punishment is illegal and immoral.
In Israel, there are people who are serious about peace and taking action.
Hararetz newspaper published an appeal from Gush Shalom on January 18 starting with the ringing declaration, "The cruel blockade of Gaza intensifies the hatred, intensifies the bloodshed." It went on to call on all Israeli peace movements to participate in a large convoy on January 26 to bring essential supplies to the Gaza Strip.
Concern at Israel‘s activities is shared by United Nations special rapporteur on human rights John Dugard, who said that Israel must have forseen the loss of life and injury to civilians caused by its attack on the Interior Ministry building in Gaza City last week.
He went on to say that Israel‘s actions raise serious questions in relation to violations of international law against collective punishment under the fourth Geneva Convention.
As children die of cold and lack of medicine, bombs kill ordinary people on the streets and starvation looms, the people of Gaza are the victims of the cosy deal struck at Annapolis.
Surely it is time to, at the very least, restrict military supplies and co-operation with Israel and suspend the European Union trade deal over human rights violations.
Palestinian Health Ministry official Dr Mehmet Abbas described the scale of the crisis recently in a poignant message.
Of Israel‘s policies, he concluded: "So, the people starve, the people have to be targeted by the unmanned planes and, when wounded, there should be no treatment and later no coffins when they die. This is the reality. What sort of respect for international conventions is it?"
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is holding a demonstration demanding End the Siege on Gaza on Saturday January 26 between 4-6 pm outside Downing Street, London. Birmingham PSC activists will be leafleting between 11am-1pm in Victoria Square in the city centre and between 2-4pm on Corporation Street.Jeremy Corbyn is Labour MP for Islington North