”To get Israel to stop committing these crimes, end its illegal occupation of Palestine and finally respect international law, we need real action from political leaders – not just words.
Richard Burgon MP
Today, over 50 MPs from seven parties have backed a Parliamentary Motion tabled by Richard Burgon MP calling on the UK Government to impose sanctions on Israel for its repeated violations of international law in Palestine
Early Day Motion 221 calls directly on the Government to support a recent UN resolution and ruling by the International Court of Justice and to take immediate action by “ending all military exports to Israel, banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements and revoking the 2030 Roadmap which deepens UK economic, trade and security ties with Israel.”
Commenting on the motion, Richard Burgon MP stated that “for over a year now, Israel has carried out war crimes and flagrant violations of international law in Gaza.
”To get Israel to stop committing these crimes, end its illegal occupation of Palestine and finally respect international law, we need real action from political leaders – not just words.
“That means imposing sanctions on Israel, as the UN General Assembly recently called for. By imposing sanctions, our Government would be sending a clear signal that it believes no nation is above the law.”
You can read the full text of the motion below and view the current list of signatories here.
EDM 221: UN’s resolution on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and sanctions
That this House welcomes the UN General Assembly’s decision to overwhelmingly adopt a resolution on 18 September calling for Israel to rapidly end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT); further welcomes that the UN resolution calls on states to comply with their obligations under international law and to take concrete steps to address Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT; notes this includes calling on states not to act in ways that provide aid or assistance that help maintain Israel’s illegal presence in the OPT, to cease importing products originating from Israeli settlements, to halt arms transfers to Israel where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may be used in the OPT, to implement sanctions including travel bans and asset freezes against those involved in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT, and to take steps to prevent all other trade that aids or assists the illegal occupation; further notes the UN General Assembly’s resolution follows an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion that Israel’s decades-long occupation violates international law and which calls on states not to act in ways that maintain this unlawful situation; believes the adoption of this resolution places new obligations on the Government; and calls on the Government to act in support of the UN resolution and ICJ opinion including by ending all military exports to Israel, banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements and revoking the 2030 Roadmap which deepens UK economic, trade and security ties with Israel.
- Richard Burgon is the MP for Leeds East, the Secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs and a regular contributor to Labour Outlook. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
- You can find the full text of Early Day Motion 221: ‘UN’s resolution on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and sanctions’ here.
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