JERSEY will play its part in ensuring food and other supplies can reach parts of Gaza and alleviate the risk of death by starvation for residents of the beleaguered region, the Chief Minister has pledged.
Deputy Lyndon Farnham was asked about Gaza in the Assembly by Constable Karen Stone, who quoted a UN report spelling out that around 500,000 people, around a fifth of the total population, were at risk starving to death after 70 days without any supplies from the outside world.
Mrs Stone asked: “Following our Island’s very recent reflections on its own experiences of starvation during the Occupation, will the Chief Minister commit to Jersey adding its voice to ensuring aid can enter and be distributed in Gaza?”
Deputy Farnham said he was one of many Islanders who were “absolutely appalled and distressed at the tragic circumstances in Gaza”. He added that Jersey’s government endorsed recent comments by Hamish Falconer, the UK minister with responsibility for the Middle East, expressing “fierce opposition” to any expansion of activities in the region by the Israeli Defence Force.
Conversations were taking place between Jersey and Westminster, Deputy Farnham said, with External Relations Minister Ian Gorst making the Island’s views known “vociferously”.
“I deplore the potential for major famine in Gaza,” he concluded. “Everyone needs to work together to end this situation as soon as possible, and Jersey will play its part.”
