Welfare Association UK Takes All-Party Parliamentary Britain-Palestine Group Delegation to visit projects in Palestine
2nd - 6th September 2007
The delegation consisted of Richard Burden MP, Karen Buck MP, Julie Morgan MP, Alistair Carmichael MP, Martin Linton MP, and was led by Welfare Association' consultant Julia Wickham. The purpose of the trip was to provide an insight to the daily lives of Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza, and an understanding of the difficulties in carrying out projects under the Occupation, as faced by Welfare Association (WA).
The first day of field visits began with a briefing from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in East Jerusalem. The delegation was given an overview of the situation in both the West Bank and Gaza, discussing the effects of the continuing closure of the main crossings in Gaza, in particular Karni and Rafah and the restrictions of movement for people and goods caused by increased roadblocks and checkpoints. The MPs also saw how the planned construction of the Israeli wall/fence in the West Bank will total 449 miles, (56% is already constructed with 10% under construction and a further 33.5% planned), and were briefed on the economic and humanitarian impact of Israeli settlement expansion.
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