Jeremy Corbyn believes that the priority is a ceasefire and lifting the siege on Gaza (Reuters)

LONDON -

More than 134 members of the British Parliament and members of the House of Lords signed a letter to Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Business and Trade Minister Kimmy Badenoch, calling on the government to impose a ban on arms sales to Israel.

The letter stressed the need to take immediate action to suspend arms export licenses to Israel.

Al Jazeera Net met with the Labor Party MPs in the British Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn and Richard Burgon, who signed this letter, for more details about it.

Ethical decision

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Burgoon stressed that the government must adhere to the moral decision consistent with international law. He wondered, "When we look at the Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire, how can our government not comply with it, especially with the Israeli government ignoring the resolution. Our government continues to sell weapons to it. This must stop immediately."

He said that the British government should beware of "involvement and complicity in the war crimes that Israel is currently committing in the Gaza Strip."

Regarding the massive marches in support of Gaza, Burgon added, “The massive mass movement demanding an immediate ceasefire effectively contributes to changing the British government’s official position and forces it to vote in favor of the resolution at the United Nations, which the government has not done before.”

He continued, "Although this decision is welcome, it is not sufficient. Our government must press for a ceasefire, and most importantly, stop allowing Israel to obtain weapons. This is a broad demand in Parliament from both parties, and we need more pressure to achieve this." .

Burgon touched on the issue of the British government imposing sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers, demanding that more of them be imposed, and that they include sanctions related to arming Tel Aviv, and he considered it a binding moral and legal duty to avoid complicity in war crimes.

Decisive action

Last February, the British Foreign Office announced the imposition of sanctions on 4 extremist Israeli settlers who committed human rights violations against Palestinian communities.

Burgon said, "The settlements are illegal under international law, and what must result is decisive action against them. What we saw in the sanctions against extremist settlers is necessary, especially with the Israeli government ignoring the ceasefire decision, but more measures must be taken against these settlements." ".

The MP highlighted the problems of the illegal settlements run by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stressing that they make the two-state solution almost impossible, especially geographically, and that they are an obstacle that obstructs and prevents attempts to establish a Palestinian state.

He denounced the decision to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and said, "It is clearly a moral mistake. UNRWA is carrying out vital and irreplaceable work in Gaza at a horrific time of suffering, destruction and killing."

He added, "We called in Parliament to urgently resume funding for UNRWA in compliance with the decisions of other countries, which is our moral obligation. How can they condemn the abuse of civilians in Gaza, and at the same time stop funding?"

collusion

In turn, former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn told Al Jazeera Net, "I feel ashamed and disgusted not only because our government exports weapons to Israel and supports it militarily, but also allows British airports to be used as transit points for military uses related to the war on Gaza."

He added, "Some warplanes are also used on those flights between Israel and Cyprus. I, as a parliament member, do not know what is on them."

Corbyn filed a petition in Parliament with the British government last December demanding that it disclose the nature of the military actions taking place at the British Air Force Akrotiri (RAF) base in Cyprus.

The British government has not, to date, answered Corbyn's question about the use of this base by the American army, which reports indicate that it is used to deliver weapons to Israel.

The former Labor Party leader said that the decision of the International Court of Justice was decisive, considering that the aggression against Gaza amounted to genocide, which means that any party that provides military supplies - permanent or temporary - to Israel is complicit.

It also means - according to Corbyn - that the current British government is vulnerable to prosecution before the International Criminal Court, and this includes all countries that signed the Rome Convention, “but they are also complicit in war crimes.”

Article 4 of the Convention stipulates “the obligation of States Parties to take measures to prevent and punish the crime of genocide, including by enacting relevant legislation and punishing its perpetrators, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.”

Accordingly, the 134 MPs and Lords and others demand that all of this be included under the clause of stopping military supplies to Israel, in addition to stopping the export of weapons to it, in compliance with the International Justice Decision and international agreements binding signatory countries to take measures to prevent the crime of genocide.

Source: Al Jazeera