Press Release from Jon Ashworth MP

PRESS RELEASE FROM JON ASHWORTH MP

Member of Parliament for Leicester South

27 August 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE USE

JON ASHWORTH, LABOUR MP FOR LEICESTER SOUTH, TO MEET WITH PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER IN VISIT TO OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

Jonathan Ashworth will be travelling to the Occupied Palestinian Territories today, staying in the West Bank as part of a delegation with Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, and CAABU (the Council for Arab-British Understanding).

As part of the visit, Mr Ashworth will be meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

The delegation comes after news of an agreed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking before the visit, Mr Ashworth said:

“This delegation will allow me to meet with influential individuals in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and I’ll see for myself exactly what life is like when living in those territories.”

“I also fully welcome this ceasefire. The recent violence we’ve seen in Gaza and Israel has been horrific. I have looked on in absolutely dismay at the unfolding events in Palestine, and the loss of so much innocent life is heart-breaking.”

The delegation will last for five days.

In addition to meeting the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Ashworth will also meet with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a relief and humanitarian development agency of the United Nations.

He will also meet with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), and other agencies on the ground.

Mr Ashworth commented further:

“In recent weeks a huge number of constituents have contacted me about this issue, and I will report back upon my return.”

www.jonashworth.org

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