On 27 December we wrote to Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to ask what action will DEFRA take to lessen and mitigate the unimaginable loss resulting from Israel’s appalling military raids on Palestinian seed banks.
Dear Minister
Devastating consequences of Israeli military raids on Palestinian seed banks
Nothing, it would seem, is sacred to the Israeli forces, even deliberately destroying precious and irreplaceable infrastructure for a responsible, fair and sustainable food system.
Since the so-called ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli government and military have been unrelenting in the continuing genocide of Palestinians, destroying lives, and destroying the conditions for life to flourish. WILPF UK (the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) is devastated to learn of yet another heinous act – one among far too many others.
The premises of the Palestinian seed banks have been raided by the Israeli military, with agricultural workers abducted, and vital equipment for the preservation of Palestinian food security and food sovereignty destroyed. The raid specifically targeted infrastructures of the seed banks in Hebron and Ramallah, destroying seed stocks that represent Palestine’s plant genetic heritage. The seed banks preserve local plant varieties, including traditional Palestinian vegetables, herbs, medicinal plants, field crops and wild native shrubs. Such seeds are important for food sovereignty and help farmers adapt to climate change and water shortage. The seed banks are supported by La Via Campesina, a transnational social movement of small-scale famers.
The Ramallah raid was televised to provide entertainment for Israelis while workers were brutalised with bullets fired and tear gas released in surrounding streets. Yet Israelis as well as Palestinians might have benefited from the seed banks and also from the profound knowledge of Palestinian farmers of how to farm a difficult terrain productively without degrading it further.
What action will DEFRA take to lessen and mitigate the unimaginable loss resulting from these further appalling and violent acts? Can DEFRA be at the forefront of confronting the Israeli government to act to stop the genocide, to stop facilitating the genocide, and to stop further decimation of lives, life, property and infrastructure?
Yours in peace
