A ceasefire is not enough

Of course any ceasefire - however poorly observed - is almost inevitably better than the absence of a ceasefire.

In general the fewer people who are killed the better.

However, as today's Morning Star points out, an Israeli ceasefire does nothing to lift the siege of Gaza or to resolve the problems underlying the conflict.

First among these must be the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.

I hope that the mobilisation in support of the Palestinians which we have seen in the trade unions in recent weeks can now be sustained.

We need to raise funds to meet the pressing material needs of the people of Gaza - and to sustain the political pressure on our Government, and those of the European Union, to isolate Israel whilst the occupation continues.