The protesters demanded that the government "stop arming Israel" and besieged the Ministry of Business and Trade building (Al Jazeera)

London -

Activists in Britain from the “London for Free Palestine” movement besieged the building of the Ministry of Business and Trade, and described the movement as “an occupation of the ministry’s lobby” and demanded that the government “stop arming Israel.” Dozens of activists sat in front of the main door, in an attempt to besiege the building and prevent employees from arriving. to perform their work.

This comes in a new protest step that objects to arming Israel, while the movement - in cooperation with the “Free Palestine Coalition” - announced that this movement represents part of an escalating plan to stop the aggression against Gaza, which they called “the month of movement for Palestine.”

This move coincides with a letter presented yesterday, Wednesday, by MP Zara Sultana, and signed by 134 people, including MPs and lords from the Labor Party, the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, and others urging the Business Secretary and Foreign Secretary David Cameron to suspend arms sales to Israel.

Movements against the arming of Israel organized several activities, including the siege of more than 8 arms factories (London for a Free Palestine)

A call to stop collusion

Immediately upon entering the building, activists chanted, “You cannot hide the government, we accuse you of genocide.” Outside, other activists raised a 25-meter-long banner that read, “Stop arming Israel.”

An activist in the "London for Free Palestine" movement, Cynthia Allitt, told Al Jazeera Net, "This government is weaponizing genocide and ignoring opinion polls, and British public opinion wants a ceasefire, but instead of using the government's influence to put an end to the violence, the government is helping Israel and inciting the massacre of the Palestinians." ".

Alet added, "The Canadian government's decision to stop arms sales to Israel shows the possibility for the United Kingdom to end its complicity in Israeli war crimes. We are here occupying and closing the Department of Business and Trade because the government is violating UK and international law, after the International Court of Justice declared the existence of a plausible case of genocide." Collective action in Gaza, and we will not allow more Palestinians to be slaughtered in our names and with our money, as this is done by financing our taxes.”

In turn, movement participant Ren Davies told Al Jazeera Net, "Israel will ignore the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire from all parties. When will the government respond to the growing consensus in this country on the need for the United Kingdom to end its complicity with the genocidal war that Israel is waging against Gaza?" We call on our government to abide by its own laws, and to respond to the wishes of not only the public at large but also parliamentarians.”

Another participant named Eilidh Anderson told Al Jazeera Net, "Our government is complicit, and we call for an end to British complicity in this genocide, and an end to the colonial system of settlement and apartheid on which Israel is based." He added, "We ask people of conscience around the world to put pressure on their governments to end collusion with the Israeli regime."

Violation of the law

Movements against the arming of Israel in Britain carried out several activities during the recent period, including blockading more than 8 arms factories in the United Kingdom and Scotland, to prevent employees from entering and trucks from leaving, while this is considered the first time that this type of movement has been carried out in a government building.

The "London for Free Palestine" movement considered that "the government has a legal and moral obligation to stop granting licenses to sell weapons to countries that commit atrocities and war crimes, which amount to genocide according to the International Court of Justice in the case of the Israeli attack on Gaza."

The United Kingdom is one of the largest arms exporters in the world, and any company wishing to export military or dual-use goods to other countries must apply for a license from the government to do so, and these applications are dealt with by the Joint Export Control Unit, which is located Within the Ministry of Business and Trade, where the activists are located.

According to the UK-based Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network, “since 2015, there have been £472 million in grants of standard licenses of limited value and 58 open licenses of unlimited value to Israel.”

An international retreat from armament

Last December, Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network applied for a judicial review of government export licenses for the sale of British arms to Israel, in response to a Court of Justice decision that found a plausible case of genocide being committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.

Despite the British government's condemnation, it is obligated to implement British law, as the UK's current arms export standards highlight that "if there is a clear risk that a weapon may be used in serious breach of international humanitarian law, a license should not be granted."

However, the Movement for a Free Palestine announced that the Supreme Court had dismissed the case last February, even though court documents in January made clear that State Department legal advisers “were unable to conclude that Israel was in compliance with international humanitarian law in its bombing.” "For Gaza."

The activists called on the Ministry of Business and Trade, and therefore the government, to adhere to British and international law, by ending arms sales to Israel, and calling for a permanent and immediate ceasefire, and considered that “the government’s refusal to stop arms exports to Israel makes it complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which is what "It is contrary to international law and the government's own arms export licensing protocols."

Such calls come at a time when other countries have begun reviewing arms trade agreements with Israel, as a Dutch court in February ordered the government to stop supplying spare parts for the F-35 fighter jets to Israel, and the foreign ministers of Italy and Spain also banned all... Arms exports to Israel immediately after the start of the attack on Gaza, while Canada issued a decision to freeze new arms export permits to Israel in January, which remains in effect today.

Source: Al Jazeera