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| Volume 54 Number 18, July 20, 2024 | ARCHIVE | HOME | JBCENTRE | SUBSCRIBE |
Thousands of protesters surrounded parliament on Thursday, July 18, to demand the new Labour government stop arming Israel. People linked arms on the protest called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Stop the War.
As Stop the War writes: "Israel is committing war crime after war crime. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer's new government continues to arm Israel and block the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister Netanyahu."
July 18 was parliament's first full day back, coming the day following the King's speech, and the linking of hands around Parliament demonstrated the strength of feeling for a ceasefire and an end to arms sales to Israel.
Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: "The Labour government has been elected with a huge majority [of seats] but lost votes in the election to candidates who called clearly for action to hold Israel to account for its ongoing genocidal assault on Palestinians in Gaza, which to date has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, and its decades-long violation of Palestinian rights."
Ben Jamal called on the government to take three immediate actions: restore funding to UNRWA; publish the legal advice relating to the sale of weapons to Israel and act to end them; support all actions in the ICJ and the ICC to hold Israel to account for its war crimes in Gaza.
The day following the Hands around Parliament action, it was announced that Britain will now provide £21m in funding to UNRWA, to be spent on food, emergency shelter and other basic services for millions of people in Gaza and the West Bank. The decision is a victory for all, both inside and outside of Parliament, who continue to oppose the pro-Zionist stand of the Labour government. But it should be noted that before funding was suspended in January, a total of £35m was provided to UNRWA. Now Britain must end all arms sales to Israel.
The next national demonstration for Palestine is on August 3, marching from Park Lane to Whitehall. The organisers are giving a call for maximum turnout on the day.