Israel conformity call

A new group of lawyers supporting the rights of Palestinians has written to Jack Straw protesting at the 'complete failure' of the British government to intervene against Israel's military attack in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, a group which includes leading civil liberties lawyer Geoffrey Bindman as a supporter, is sending two barristers to the territories next week in conjunction with the Bar Council's human rights committee.

The aim is to show solidarity with lawyers and human rights workers who have been prevented from doing their jobs, and to offer support to detainees who have been denied legal representation.

Spokesman Daniel Machover, a partner at London civil liberties firm Hickman & Rose, said: 'We are calling on the government to fulfil its legal obligation to secure Israel's compliance with the Geneva Convention and withdraw from the territories.'

Geoffrey Bindman, senior partner of Bindmans, who was also a signatory to an open letter published recently in the Jewish Chronicle calling for Israel to end the occupation, said: 'There is no question that Israel is flouting international law and United Nations resolutions by continuing to occupy these territories, and we want to show our solidarity with the Palestinians.'

He added that the letter, signed by approximately 300 high-profile UK-based Jews including solicitors Lord Clinton-Davis and Sir Jeremy Beecham, was a chance for the British Jewish population to express opposition to the Israeli government's policies.

Victoria MacCallum