The Disasters Emergency Committee has refuted suggestions that its response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a political statement.
The umbrella organisation, which has 13 aid agency members, said today that its Gaza Crisis Appeal has raised more than £9m in the week since its launch.
Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, said in a statement yesterday that “giving aid is not taking sides”.
He was forced to speak out after campaigners on both sides of the conflict have used DEC’s social media presence, particularly Facebook, to make assumptions that the appeal is pro-Palestine and anti-Israel.
He said: “The DEC’s launch of a public appeal in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been wrongly interpreted in some quarters as a political statement. It is nothing of the sort. Giving aid is not taking sides.
“While there is understandable and passionate disagreement about this conflict, the DEC wishes to affirm that there can be no excuse for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia. Although we have been saddened by the tone of some contributions to the public debate, the extraordinary generosity of the UK public in response to our Gaza appeal has provided a moving counterpoint.”
The DEC said the wider debate about Gaza in the media was sometimes falling into anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, but the need to help hundreds of thousands of people must not be reduced to a political football.
“We are clear that we do not want to be a forum for that conversation. The discussion is abusive and we do not tolerate that. Political debate is not appropriate in DEC space,” a DEC spokesman said.
Money raised by the appeal is allowing DEC’s members to scale up their humanitarian response to people in Gaza, while a renewed ceasefire holds, DEC said.
Launched last Friday, the Gaza appeal has now raised more than £9m. It raised more than £4.5m in 24 hours after it was launched with broadcast appeals on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky.
The British Red Cross has been distributing house items including mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits and nappies to 47,574 people in Gaza City, Khan Younis, Deir el Balah and Rafah. The BRC is supporting the Palestinian Red Crescent, which is providing first aid, ambulance services and psychological support.
CARE International has been able to double its number of mobile health teams that are helping more than 300 people a day with essential medical support.
Saeed said: “The DEC’s Gaza Crisis Appeal clearly meets all our criteria. The humanitarian need in Gaza is overwhelming. Despite the obvious risks and logistical hurdles, our members and their partners are reaching hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza with aid. There are those who feel complex emergencies are best left well alone, but many others recognise that for a family which has lost its home their need is as great whether the cause is an earthquake or a war.”
