Since 30 March Palestinians in Gaza have been protesting – asserting their right to return to the homes from which their families were expelled or were forced to flee in 1948 and in 1967. They are also demonstrating against the appalling conditions caused by Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza. In response, the Israeli government has instructed its troops to use live ammunition to fire on demonstrators, including children, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 and injuring over 13,000 Palestinians.

This Friday, Palestinians demonstrate again. Protests in solidarity with those demonstrating have taken place across the UK this week.

We welcome the resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international law arising from these events and condemn the UK government’s decision not to support that resolution.

We note with extreme concern that, since 2014, the UK government has approved over £490m worth of arms exports to Israel, including small arms and components for sniper rifles similar or identical to those being used to kill and maim unarmed Palestinians.

We call for the immediate suspension of the UK arms trade with Israel until the proposed UN inquiry has been allowed to conclude its investigation and it can be proved there is no risk that arms supplied by the UK may be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Hugh Lanning Chair, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Grahame Morris MP Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East, Tommy Sheppard MP SNP Friends of Palestine, Tom Brake MP Lib Dem Friends of Palestine, Caroline Lucas MP Green party, Len McCluskey General secretary, Unite the Union, Mark Serwotka General secretary, PCS, Dave Prentis General secretary, Unison, Mick Whelan General secretary, Aslef, Kevin Courtney Joint general secretary, NEU – NUT section, Jeremy Irons Actor, Benjamin Zephaniah Musician and poet, Paul Maskey MP Sinn Féin, Matt Wrack General secretary, FBU, Tim Roache General secretary, GMB, Manuel Cortes General secretary, TSSA, Kareem Dennis (Lowkey) Hip Hop artist, Ahdaf Soueif Writer, Professor Karma Nabulsi University of Oxford, Professor Ghada Karmi University of Exeter, Ben Jamal Director, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Ismail Patel Chair, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Lindsey German Convener, Stop the War, Kate Hudson General secretary, CND, Dr Hafiz Karmi Chair, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Zaher Birawi Chair, EuroPal Forum, Dr Anas Altikriti President, Muslim Association of Britain, Asad Rehman Director, War on Want, Atallah Said Chairman, British Palestinian Policy Council, Victoria Brittain Journalist and author, Chris Rose Director, Amos Trust, Daphna Baram Director, ICAHD UK, Pat Gaffney General secretary, Pax Christi, Phoebe Aranki Rison Sabeel-Kairos

• We are writing to express our outrage and condemnation at the killing of Razan al-Najjar in the Gaza strip last Friday, 1 June 2018. Razan was a 21-year-old nurse who volunteered as a paramedic and was providing medical attention to injured protesters when she was fatally shot by an Israeli sniper. Razan was wearing clothing that clearly identified her as a medic and in no way posed a threat to the Israel Defence Forces.

Razan is the 119th Palestinian to be killed during the protests in Gaza over the last 10 weeks that have seen 13 children and two journalists also killed. Over 13,000 Palestinians have been injured, including over 200 medics, and over 7,000 of whom were struck by live ammunition and rubber bullets.

We are deeply concerned by the level of violence that has been used against unarmed protesters and the clear disregard for the lives of medical workers. The killing of medical workers is a violation of the Geneva conventions. We are also concerned that British-made weapons, including sniper rifles, that have been sold to Israel are being used to commit potential war crimes. We call on the British government to put forward a statement condemning the violence against medical workers and volunteers by the Israeli army; to push for independent investigations into the killing of Razan al-Najjar and the use of British-made weapons during the Great Return March; and to immediately put in place an arms embargo on Israel pending completion of the investigations.

David Bailey Staff nurse, A&E, Yannis Gourtsoyannis BMA Council (personal capacity), Danielle Tiplady Staff nurse, RCN activist (personal capacity), Daniel Langley Mental health nurse, RCN activist (personal capacity), Annique Simpson Community nurse & RCN activist (personal capacity), Steve Tugwell Nurse educator and human rights activist, Geoff Earl Community mental health nurse, RCN International committee (personal capacity), Katharine Youngs Student nurse, University of Leeds, RCN trade union committee student representative Matt Whale Staff nurse, Unison activist (personal capacity), Dr Philippa Simmonds Junior doctor and master’s student, (personal capacity), Dr Mona Ahmed Consultant forensic psychiatrist, Rebecca Blake Registered nurse, Emma-Louise McCleary Student Nurse Dr Aislinn Macklin-Doherty Clinical research fellow, Secretary, Health Campaigns Together, Jacqui Berry Unison national executive committee member, Intensive Care Sister, Dr Neil Tiwari Core trainee anaesthetics, Alison Mitchell Advanced nurse practitioner (self-employed), James Stephens Registered nurse, Andrew Toogood RMN Registered Nurse, Dr Sinead Cook ST5 CSRH, Jeremy Davies Registered nurse, union steward (personal capacity), Yaser Raza Biochemist, Imran Khan Doctor, Justyna Wroblewska Medical student, Perviz Asaria Cardiology registrar, Mark Gower Retired nurse, RMN, RNMH, RGN, Lillian Lyons Student nurse, University of Brighton, Sabina Hashmy NHS GP, Joe Sharif Haematology registrar, Carol Mitchell Health visitor, Manchester, Dr Raina Nazar GP, Dr Zabare Mirza GP, Toni Goodchild Registered Nurse, Dr Lauren Gavaghan Consultant psychiatrist, Dr Saif Ahmad GP trainee (personal capacity), Megan Parsons Junior doctor, Helen Greener Consultant psychiatrist (personal capacity), Sarah Maan Medical SHO, Zahida Bashir Paediatric Nurse, Dr Bala Karunakaran, Shakira Akther Student Paediatric Nurse (KCL), Isma Iqbal Consultant otolaryngologist, Matt Bodell Registered nurse, Dr MH Peivandi, Asif Islam NHS, Gareth Harris Critical care outreach nurse practitioner, Dr Cicely Cunningham Clinical oncology trainee, Antonios Antoniou Consultant obstetrician gynaecologist, Daniel Hadley Medical student, Dr Sonia Adesara Junior doctor, Kitty Worthing Junior doctor, Z Zia General practitioner, Nicolas Blondel Junior doctor, Dr Abdul Mughees Khan GP, Birmingham, Temple Moore Occupational therapist, Cecilia Duggan Registered nurse, Karam Sarsam Doctor, Dr Nadim Azar GP, Dr Paul Robinson ED registrar & HCSA representative (personal capacity), Christina Sosseh RNMH, BA (Hons) healthcare, Dr Hassan GP, Penny Pavey Ocular tissue coordinator, Shabaz Razi Pharmacist, Dr Kambiz Boomla GP, Rabia Hussain Pharmacy student, Sabah Nazar Optometrist, Hany Mohsin A&E doctor (SHO), Ruth Catton Registered nurse, Hassan Sheikh ACMT, sports therapist, Callum Macphee FY2, Tehseen Khan GP, Dr Shuaib Quraishi Junior doctor, Dr Kishwar Sultana OOH GP, Ian Hartley Senior charge nurse, Edinburgh, James McSporran Nurse, Mrs Kate Bush Consultant ophthalmologist, Dr Mark Butler Consultant paediatrician, Elly Badcock Occupational therapy student, Cardiff, Dr Jessica Potter Respiratory registrar, London, Emma Clewer Community staff nurse, London, Dr Aaminah Verity GP trainee, Dr Hanoman-Singh GPST3, Kate Farrow Medical student, Rehana Jan GP, Harriet Davies Registered nurse, Victoria Clarke Nurse practitioner, Berkshire, Anthony Johnson Registered nurse, student health visitor, Mary J Curran Specialist nurse (personal capacity), John Cooper Registered mental nurse, psychological therapist, Birmingham, Dr Kaveri Jalundhwala GMC 7482350, Dr Ali Khan NHS doctor, Anam Ahmed Junior doctor, Hussameddin Muntasser Opthalmology registrar, Norwich, Mansoor Bangash Consultant ICM & anaesthesia (personal capacity), Vijeta Mahinthan NHS doctor, Simon May Student nurse, Dr Ahmed Sewehli Independent psychiatrist, Manchester, Rishi Dhir Orthopaedic surgeon, Jessica Walker EM SHO, Mehdi Masood NHS doctor, Dr Ranna El Khairi Paediatrics Registrar, Dr Aldrin De Souza, Dr Jasveen Dhami O&G consultant (personal capacity), Mansoor Shawl Consultant psychiatrist, Manchester, Dr Safia Rehman Specialty registrar, Oxford, Tahira Khan GP registrar, Dr Latif Hussain GP, Margaret (Peggy) Woodward Retired Midwife, Dr Sabeen Ghause GP, Dr Taha Nasser Junior doctor, accident & emergency, Awais Rauf Junior doctor, ophthalmology, Dr M Santhirakumar GP, Dr MA Korim Consultant radiologist, Dr William Ricketts Consultant chest physician, Dr Sophie Ladbrooke GP ST1, Sara Ali Haematology registrar, clinical research fellow, Parsley Powersmith Consultant psychiatrist, Uwais Mufti Specialty trainee, Yorkshire, MRJ Sheehy BSc, P/G BSc (Hons), PhD, BMBS, MRCGP, Mr Dan Watson RMN, Mr Ased Ali Consultant Urological Surgeon, Shafaq Hussain General dental practitioner, Dr Shimaila Ali GP, Dr Sadiq Darwan Dentist, Dr Max Thoburn, Sarra Merzougui O&G Trainee, Ruth Ward RSCN, Lyn Berry Registered nurse, Dr Suhail Hussain GP, Dr Humayun Rashid GP, Pam Martin Former registered nurse, Dr May Jay Ali GP, Ben Eder Junior doctor, Dr Naila Aslam Research physician, Dr Nicholas Charalambous Junior doctor, Catriona McIntosh Registered nurse, Rachel Rawsthorne RGN, Anisa Hassan Paediatric CNS, Shillo Beaton Clinical and training applications specialist, Rebecca Bryson Occupational therapist, Thomas Murray Retired nurse, Dr Mohsin Badat Haematology registrar, Dr Ayisha Khan-Kheil Cardiology registrar, Dr Hina J Shahid GP, Dr Reeta Herzallah Paediatric registrar, Dr Shahan Nizar Consultant anaesthetist, Dr Beenish Ashraf GP, Dr Rooha I Ghauri Paediatric registrar, Dr R Maitland Consultant diabetologist, Ben Bouqet Public health registrar (personal capacity), Mark Bem RNMH, Maeve Regan Midwife, Evie Penrose Polson Student nurse, Dr Tahir Mohammed GP, Diane Stobbs Retired HCA, Dr Mahdieh Malekpour Paediatric registrar, Amy Hufton Obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, Dr Patrick Bogue A&E SHO, Dr Jane Stratton Anaesthetics SHO, Dr Tomasz Pierscionek Staff grade doctor, psychiatry, Ahsen Hussain MD FRCOphth, opthalmologist, Dr Joseph O’ Neill Retired GP and hospital consultant, Professor Basil Ammori Doctor, Naznin Davdani Pharmacist, Dr Radzi M Noh Consultant physician, diabetes and endocrinology, Dr Muhammad Najim, Hussamuddin Adwan Specialty trainee in general surgery, Shireen Hilmi Medical student, Hassan Abbas Dentist, Ahmad Mahmoud Pharmacist, Ali Khoei Pharmacist, Fraser Anderson Trainee clinical psychologist, Diane Williams Retired, Andrew Bassett-Scott Specialist nurse in community mental health, Jason Poole Trainee clinical psychologist, Dr Huda Al-Hassani, Junior doctor, Jenny Booth RGN, Michael Coram Registered nurse, Timesh Pillay Doctor, Fergus Brown Medical student, University of Glasgow, Katie Murray Medical student, Richard Le Mare Radiographer, Dr Alison Payne GP, Martin Woods Therapy radiographer, Dr Sushila Ganguli Medical oncology registrar, Jaffar Khan GP, Dr Hyoung-Jin Cho Psychiatry registrar, Dr Ali R Husain ED Consultant, Grant Byrne Student nurse, Hamdi Almasri Orthopaedics registrar, Cheryl Hunter Trainee clinical psychologist, Sunar Choudhury GP, Dr Khader Abu-Hayyeh Retired doctor, Michael Lewis FCMI, Esther Giles Finance director, NHS, Aimee Wood Student nurse, Stuart Crawford Community support worker, Hackney, London, Cllr Jonathan Grisdale Chair, Unite NW46 NHS branch, Karl Gill Unite convenor and chair, NW65 branch, Maureen Drennan, Gerry Seaman, Saneeya Shamim Khan IT project manager, Jan Bastable Chair, Unite South East Women’s Committee, Alice Brown MSc Art Psychotherapy Student, Edinburgh, Mary Valentine, Mohammed Shoaib Tariq, Heather Nicholls, Kaye McIntosh Freelance Editor (health magazines), Sara Salim

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