A model motion to pass though your Students' Union
The Union notes:
1) That Israel has declared the Gaza Strip a “hostile entity”.
2) That Israel has blockaded the Gaza Strip and blocked all the movement in and out of the territory.
3) That essential supplies such as food, medical aid, fuel and water cannot enter Gaza.
4) That the Gaza strip is the most densely populated area of the word.
5) The security barrier surrounding Gaza has turned the city into the world’s largest open prison and alongside the destruction of the airport and the naval blockade of the port amounts to economic sanctions against one of the poorest regions on earth.
6) That the Secretary-General if UN said on the 24 September 2007 : “I am particularly concerned for the ordinary people of Gaza, who off from the outside world.
7) That students from Gaza cannot study outside Gaza, even in other Palestinian Universities. They are banned from reaching the 8 Palestinian Universities in the West Bank: In 2000 there were 350 Gazan students at Birzeit University, in April 2005 there were only 35.
8) Khaled Mudallal, a 3rd year Business and Management student at the University of Bradford, is currently held in Gaza and unable to return to the UK to continue his studies, putting his entire academic and future career in jeopardy.
9) That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees equal rights for all, including the promise that 'Everyone has the right to education' (Article 26). That the status of the Palestinian territories (including West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem) is described in International Law as "Occupied territories", and that the Fourth Geneva Convention, 1949 states that "The occupying power shall, with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children." (Article 50)
This Union Believes:
1) That Israel’s blockade of Gaza is a form of collective punishment and therefore constitutes a War Crime
2) That the recent intensification of aggression against the Gaza Strip is a direct result of this summer’s events and an attempt by Israel to topple the democratically elected Hamas government.
3) Palestinian education has been severely hindered since the outbreak of the Second Intifada in September 2000 by blanket curfews, the presence of roadblocks, erection of the Wall and the current siege on the Gaza strip. The cumulative effects of these measures have put the future of many Palestinian students at grave risk.
4) By preventing Khaled Mudallal from returning to the UK to continue his studies Israel is in violation of International Law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
5) Khaled Mudallal must be allowed to return to the UK immediately to continue his studies. All other restrictions on Palestinians traveling to the UK, abroad or within Palestine must be removed. Any delay in Khaled’s and the other Palestinian students return is damaging to their future prospects and thus unacceptable.
6) That if education is a fundamental Human Right, then it is the duty of all education institutions across the world to defend it.
7) That students have a particular duty to defend the right to education and the student movement in the UK must stand in solidarity with students in Palestine.
This Union Resolves:
1) To pressurize the UK Government to do all in its power to secure the right to travel for Khaled Mudallal and all other Palestinians.
2) To lobby the University and the NUS to pressurize the UK Government to do all in its power to secure the right to travel for Khaled Mudallal and all other Palestinians.
3) To work with the main lecturer’s Union, the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU), to pressure Universities in Israel and the UK to campaign for the removal of travel restrictions on Palestinians.
4) To work with students and lecturers in Israel to demand that Israeli educational institutions end their complicity in the denial of Palestinian human rights and campaign for the removal of travel restrictions on all Palestinians.
5) To send a letter of condemnation to the Israeli Embassy in the UK, calling for a removal of the travel restrictions on Khaled Mudallal and all Palestinians.
6) To work in conjunction with Palestinian solidarity groups to ensure that Palestinian human rights are protected.
7) To organize and run a campaign to raise awareness and educate the Students’ Union membership and University lecturers and staff about the occupation and oppression of Palestine, particularly highlighting the denial of the right to education and the travel restrictions.