No More Excuses: Impose Sanctions on Israel Now – Richard Burgon

“There is now no hiding place for our government – or for any other. Sanctions must be imposed immediately on Israel.”

By Richard Burgon MP

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Palestine has now confirmed what has long been obvious: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. There is now no hiding place for our government – or for any other. Sanctions must be imposed immediately on Israel.

The UN Commission found that Israel has committed four of the five acts outlawed under the 1948 Genocide Convention. It has called on UN member states to act – by halting arms transfers and imposing sanctions on Israel as well as on individuals and corporations complicit in genocide.

This is not an isolated finding. Earlier this summer, the world’s leading association of genocide scholars declared that Israel is committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In the face of all this evidence, there is simply no excuse not to act – nor has there ever been.

It has been 20 months since the world’s top court, the International Court of Justice, first found a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza. It called for measures against Israel to prevent this and it has since demanded action two more times.

Yet the response from our government has been woeful.

British-made parts are still flowing for the world’s deadliest fighter jets, without the restrictions needed to prevent them from ending up in Israel. These parts make up 15% of the F-35 planes raining death and destruction on Gaza.

Just as importantly, our Government’s refusal to act decisively and use every single political and diplomatic tool at its disposal has sent a clear signal to Israel. Israel has seen that as a green light to deepen its war on Gaza and to escalate its violent occupation in the West Bank.

Not only is there a moral case for sanctions. There is also a clear legal obligation.

In July last year the ICJ found Israel’s occupation to be unlawful and ruled that all states are obliged to end any support— economic, trade, military or diplomatic —that sustains it. The UN General Assembly reinforced that call for sanctions.

By refusing to properly act, our Government is engaging in complete double standards. It has rightly imposed over 2,300 sanctions on Russia over its illegal war on Ukraine. Yet there has been nothing like the same scale in response to Israel’s war crimes.

In the face of such government inaction, it falls to us—and to all people of conscience—to force the action required. That means building a global movement for sanctions on Israel to force it to end its genocide and war crimes and in defence of international law.

That is why, this month, with my colleague Imran Hussain MP, I launched a new Working Group in parliament for sanctions on Israel.

This will push parliamentary campaigns for asset freezes and travel bans on Israeli figures responsible for these crimes, for a ban on trade and investment with Israel’s illegal settlements, the suspension of the UK-Israel trade agreement, and a full arms embargo and end to all military cooperation in line with the demands of international law.

I have also brought a Sanctions on Israel Bill to Parliament making all these demands.

Britain has rightly joined the overwhelming majority of the world in recognising Palestine as a state. But recognition must be followed with real action, including widespread sanctions, to stop Israel’s genocide and end the illegal occupation.

We all need to do everything we can to build the global movement for sanctions on Israel. And momentum is growing.

At the forefront of this global solidarity is The Hague Group—a new coalition of governments launched by South Africa that is pushing for coordinated sanctions and arms embargoes.

I was proud to attend its inspiring launch meeting and I am delighted that it is going from strength to strength, with a recent second meeting hosted by Colombia involving over 30 countries committed to real action.

Thanks to grassroots pressure, sanctions are also being discussed by Governments across Europe. Ireland, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands have all made commitments to suspend trade with Israel’s illegal settlements and to push for the suspension of the EU-Israel trade deal.

As a result, the European Commission announced plans for a package of measures against Israel, including partial suspension of the trade agreement. It’s not enough—but it shows the direction of travel.

Sanctions helped end apartheid in South Africa and they can help end Israel’s crimes too.

History will not forgive those who stood by. Governments have a simple choice: complicity in genocide or decisive action through sanctions and arms embargoes to help stop this crime and begin to deliver justice for Palestine.

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• LIVERPOOL EVENT: Palestine – the Defining Issue of Our Time. Saturday 27th September 4:30 pm. Join Richard and the Palestinian Ambassador. Register here.
• Richard Burgon is the MP for Leeds East and the Secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok.
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