“Instead of condemning Israel’s aggression, the UK has given it political, diplomatic & military support.”
By the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
This Saturday, the Palestine solidarity movement marks one year of opposition to Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza with the 20th national March for Palestine since October 2023, coming in the context of Israel’s current attack on Lebanon and the threat of a wider regional war.
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators will march through London to mark one year since Israel began its continuing genocidal assault on Gaza. More than 41 000 Palestinians have been killed, including approximately 17 000 children. Tens of thousands more are missing amidst the widespread destruction of social infrastructure that has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled this to be a plausible case of genocide – “acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part” a human group.
The UK, as a signatory to the Genocide Convention is obliged under international law to “prevent and punish” this crime, but successive governments have instead to chosen to shield and support Israel. Last month the Foreign Secretary David Lammy accepted that there is a clear risk that UK arms exports might be used to commit serious violations of international law, but his inadequate response was to suspend only 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel. In particular, he excluded indirect exports of components to Israel for the F-35 combat aircraft, known to have been used to massacre civilians in Gaza.
On September 18th, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to affirm the historic ruling by the ICJ in July and trigger the legal obligation of all states to end complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and apartheid regime, including through an arms embargo. Shamefully, the UK abstained in the vote, following a pattern of complicity with Israel’s violations of international law.
Israel’s rejection of a ceasefire in Gaza and repeated attacks on neighbouring countries now threaten to spark a regional war. Instead of condemning Israel’s aggression, the UK has given it political, diplomatic and military support. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was quick to announce he “completely condemns” Iran’s missile strikes but he has never found these words to address Israel’s genocide in Gaza or attacks on Lebanon.
Ben Jamal, PSC Director, said, “On Saturday hundreds of thousands will march to mark one year of Israel’s genocide upon the Palestinian people, a genocide that has killed at least 41 000 Palestinians, destroyed Gaza’s social infrastructure and displaced over 2 million people. For months we have been warning that granting Israel impunity for its crimes would not only leave thousands of Palestinian civilians at risk of slaughter, but risk a wider conflagration. In the last week we have seen this reality unfold, with Isreal launching strikes on Lebanon and other neighbouring states that have killed over 1,000 people, including hundreds of civilians, many of them children. Now we stand on the brink of a major war. People will be marching on Saturday demanding an end to UK complicity with these crimes because they want the rights of Palestinians to be respected, International Law to be implemented without discrimination, and because they want peace. “
- The March leaves Russell Square at 12.00 on Saturday October 5, with a rally at Whitehall at 14.30. Speakers include MPs, union leaders and civil society figures.
