VIOLENCE IN PALESTINE

That this House condemns the recent escalation of Israeli violence in Gaza, particularly the Beit Hanoun offensive, which has resulted in the killing of 80 Palestinians, including 13 members of the Al-Athamna family and the fatal shooting of two unarmed women, and the death of one Israeli soldier; condemns all acts of violence on both sides of the conflict in the Middle East; asks Israel as a democratic state to act according to the norms of such states; notes that these latest acts of violence are indiscriminate and represent an illegal and collective punishment which have resulted in the deaths of 694 Palestinians and 4,000 wounded since August 2005, when Israeli forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip; expresses grave concern that such actions serve merely to weaken and undermine the peace process rather than bolster it; believes that Israel should rethink the brutal and inhumane tactics of the IDF, which provide fresh impetus for Palestian militias, thus perpetuating the cycle of violence; calls for an immediate halt to all acts of violence on both sides; and further calls on the Quartet (United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia) to use their influence to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is causing unnecessary suffering and hardening public opinion amongst the Palestian people.