Conflict in Lebanon

Trócaire Allocates £90,000 to Middle East and Launches Emergency Appeal

Trócaire is urging people in Northern Ireland to give support to those affected by the conflict in Lebanon, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The agency is launching an appeal for the growing humanitarian crisis in the region. Trócaire is asking people to pledge not only their money but also their time to lobby their local politicians to demand an immediate end to the violence.

Trócaire has already allocated £70,000 to its local partner Caritas Lebanon for emergency relief for thousands of families seeking shelter in schools in Beirut, and £20,000 to Caritas Jerusalem to provide vital specialist medical care and social welfare support in Gaza and the West Bank.

Caritas Internationalis, of which Trócaire is a member, is an alliance of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations, working in over 200 countries and territories to build a world of justice and peace.

Commenting on the situation Eithne McNulty, Regional Manager of Trócaire in Northern Ireland stated: “Both sides involved in any conflict must distinguish between civilians and combatants and respond to any threat faced by them in a proportionate manner. While Israel has a duty to protect its citizens it must do so within internationally accepted legal parameters. Punishing thousands of civilians as part of a military strategy is not only inhumane but contradicts the Fourth Geneva Convention which sets out standards of conduct for both state forces and armed groups under military occupation.”

To join Trócaire’s Middle East e-campaign contact lmcbride@trocaire.ie or to make a donation to the appeal log onto www.trocaire.org or Freephone 0800 912 1200

Trocaire’s e-campaign is asking thousands of people to join them in calling for politicians at home and abroad to take action to end the current crisis. “Trócaire is working in the Middle East to ensurethat civilians are protected, human rights are respected and international law is upheld. For too long, human rights have been ignored and the use of brutal military force by the Israeli military, Palestinian militants and Hizbullah means that attacks against civilians are now commonplace.”

Eithne McNulty finished, “For the United States and Europe to delay calling for an immediate ceasefire and to allow the violence to continue demonstrates a cynical disregard for the hundreds of innocent civilians who are being killed”.

The main focus of Trocaire’s work in the region remains in tackling the root causes of injustice and in speaking out against the wide-ranging human rights abuses that occur in the region.

Trócaire works with both Israeli and Palestinian partners, and international networks, to protect and strengthen international humanitarian law and human rights in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).