by Valeria Fanelli –

Gino Strada, surgeon and founder of Emergency, started a petition directed to the European Union to intervene in stopping the conflict between Israel and Palestine and get engaged into the peace process.

“Emergency indignantly watches the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said Strada on his Facebook page.

The message has been spread through Strada’s Facebook page and has been liked from over 5,000 people in less than 24 hours.

Strada stated the conflict has already provoked hundreds of people injured and more than 100 dead – among them 20 children killed – in the Gaza strip, only last week.

“In Israel and in Palestine, as in Siria, as in Afghanistan, war means oppression and violence first of all against civilians,” Strada said.

The petition is direct a message to the European Union to intervene and prove to deserve the recent Nobel prize for peace that it obtained. Also, Emergency is asking the EU to promote a peace process and ensure the respect for human rights and civilians.
“After 18 years of working in war-torn countries, Emergency knows war will never lead to peace,” Strada said. “Only respecting and practicing human rights can stop this drift towards violence.”

Emergency is an independent Italian organization that provides free, high quality medical and surgical treatment to the victims of war, land-mines and poverty. Emergency promotes a culture of peace, solidarity and respect for human rights. Since 1994, over 4,794,000 people in 16 countries have received free, high quality health care by Emergency.