“Previous governments, including those headed by Thatcher, Blair & Brown, suspended arms exports to Israel.”
By Matt Willgress, Labour Outlook
In a move which will receive support from Palestine campaigners across the country and reflects the clear view of the majority of people in Britain, Zarah Sultana and a range of other MPs who have taken a stance for Palestinian rights – see the full list below – have tabled an Amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the new Government to “immediately suspend export licences for arms transfers to Israel.” This in line with the fact that United Nations experts have said that arms exports to Israel must stop, and countries such as Spain, Canada and the Netherlands have suspended arms exports accordingly.
Other measures towards justice for Palestine in the amendment include calling “on the Government to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages, to immediately recognise the state of Palestine, to restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, [and] to drop the challenge to the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction in Gaza.”
Zarah Sultana MP explained why she was making this move in a recent Guardian Comment piece, arguing that “Our new government must do the right thing and stop enabling Israeli war crimes,” and explaining that “Up until now, I have been challenging a Conservative government for its complicity in crimes against the Palestinian people. That complicity must end now that we have a Labour government. So I urge colleagues: uphold international law, suspend arms sales to Israel, and back my amendment.”
The Amendment in full reads as follows:
At end add ‘and submit that this House must work to uphold international law in Israel and Palestine; express horror at the deaths of more than 38,000 people in Gaza and 1,200 in Israel; note the widespread recognition of serious violations of international law in the conflict and the ruling from the International Court of Justice that Israel’s assault is plausibly in breach of the Genocide Convention; also note that United Nations experts have said that arms exports to Israel must stop, that countries such as Spain, Canada and the Netherlands have suspended arms exports, and that 56 per cent of the UK public support an arms sales ban; further note ongoing British arms exports to Israel; recall that previous governments, including those headed by Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, suspended arms exports to Israel; and therefore call on the Government to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages, to immediately recognise the state of Palestine, to restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, to drop the challenge to the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction in Gaza, and to immediately suspend export licences for arms transfers to Israel.’
The initial MP signatories to the Amendment – as published on July 18 2024 – were as follows:
Zarah Sultana, Imran Hussain, Ms Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
And Diane Abbott, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long Bailey, Grahame Morris, Nadia Whittome, Mary Kelly Foy, Brendan O’Hara, Jeremy Corbyn, Carla Denyer, Kim Johnson, Ian Lavery, Claire Hanna, Ayoub Khan, Shockat Adam, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns.
- Sign a new petition here calling on “The new UK Government should impose an embargo on arms sales to Israel.”
- Zarah Sultana is the MP for Coventry South, you can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
