Members of the Fire Brigades Union joined Palestine Solidarity Campaign supporters for an evening protest at the Israeli Embassy in London on Monday with the demand “Let Our Fire Engine Through!”
A fully-equipped fire appliance together with fire kit, boots, breathing apparatus and fire helmets, was donated by firefighters from the city of Dundee to the Palestinian fire service in Nablus in the West Bank. It was driven from Scotland to Southampton in the summer to sail to Israel but it has been held at the Israeli port of Ashdod since 21st July.
Dundee has been twinned with Nablus since 1980, and medical kit from the city’s Ninewells hospital along with football kits from Dundee’s East Craigie Football Club were also donated. Over 100 Palestinian firefighters have learned firefighting skills in Scotland, and Gaza protests have been held in Dundee every week since October 2023. Retired Dundee firefighter Jim Malone has championed the cause of Palestinian firefighters for decades and has visited the West Bank seven times, and in 2015 an award-winning documentary, Firefighters Under Occupation, was made by south Wales firefighter Ciaran Gibbons with the FBU's support.
Matt Wrack, the FBU general secretary said “firefighters in Palestine are working to save lives in horrifying conditions. As humanitarians, we cannot stand by while lives are being lost. It is appalling that life-saving equipment donated by our members is being held by Israeli customs while Palestinian firefighters are in desperate need of resources.
“The Fire Brigades Union calls on the Israeli government to release the donated fire engine immediately, and for the UK government to take any necessary action to ensure this aid is delivered safely”.
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