Yachad lobbying campaign marks ’50 years of Israeli occupation’ since Six Day War

British Jewish group Yachad has launched a campaign urging community members to contact their MPs and sign a declaration calling for an end to the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank 50 years after it began.

Supporters are being encouraged to ask their local parliamentarians about their views on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War.

This week, a Yachad spokesman said: “Israel’s future is threatened by 50 years of military occupation of the West Bank and the continued lack of progress towards a political resolution between Israel and the Palestinians.”

While acknowledging that victory in the Six Day War “ensured Israel’s survival,” they said this year’s anniversary also “signals 50 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 50 years of Palestinian life controlled by a foreign military and government over which they have no say, 50 years of a purportedly temporary system that has morphed into a seemingly permanent regime, which threatens Israel’s very being”.

They added that contacting MPs was important because “Parliament has become a battleground, with MPs who see themselves as supporters of Israel and MPs who see themselves as supporters of Palestine competing to host and respond to debates, Early Day Motions, and Parliamentary questions”.