Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondents
London- On Monday, the British Parliament discussed proposals and demands regarding the United Kingdom’s position on the Israeli occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip. This took place during the Parliament’s discussion committee to consider 3 popular petitions in this regard.
The first petition calls for remaining neutral and withdrawing support for Israel, while the second urges the Israeli government to allow fuel, electricity and food to enter the Gaza Strip, while the third calls for adopting a ceasefire and ending the occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The British Constitution requires Parliament to discuss petitions with more than 100,000 signatures through a subcommittee in Parliament. This is not binding on the government, which is committed to discussions in parliamentary legislative sessions, which include 650 deputies.
Denunciation of the international sessions
For his part, Representative Taher Ali from the Labor Party denounced what he described as the government’s “ignorance” of all clear evidence of Israel committing war crimes, and considered it support for Israel for an undeclared goal and an adoption of a one-state solution. He called on the government to recognize the State of Palestine, and said that using the veto against a draft ceasefire resolution “makes the United Nations look like a toothless tiger.”
Ali called for the prosecution of Israel, which violated 30 United Nations resolutions, and urged his country’s government to prepare to build on the results of investigations into war crimes to impose sanctions on Israel, calling on Parliament to ensure that it stops absolute support for the United States, and to ensure that the United Kingdom is not complicit or facilitating Any shameful actions through its support for Israel.
In turn, Caroline Lucas from the Green Party said that the United Kingdom sitting neutral in the United Nations last week was unforgivable on both the moral and political levels, and called on the British government to exploit its good diplomatic relationship with Egypt and Qatar for negotiations leading to a ceasefire.
Lucas added that the eyes of the world that are now open to this region were largely absent when the people of Gaza were forced to live for years in an open prison, where they were systematically stripped of their dignity. “Attention should not be diverted away again, despite the difficulty of the path to peace,” she said.
Confronting the arming of Israel
In turn, Shadow Minister and MP Tanmanjit Singh called on Parliament to reconsider arms export licenses to Israel, referring to the decision of the Joint Export Control Unit in the United Kingdom, which stresses not to grant licenses “if there is a clear risk that these elements can be used to commit or Facilitating internal repression or a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
Representative Kenny Maxkill stressed the need to disclose military information related to the use of the British Air Force by the US Army. He also demanded the disclosure of information related to the transfer of 500 soldiers from the British forces to Cyprus, the nature of their role there and their military rank.
Objection to the friends of Israel
On the other hand, Representatives Jim Shannon and Andrew Percy opposed the popular petitions, and the latter presented testimonies about “the cutting of women’s breasts and limbs from Israelis,” and claimed that he had seen it himself during his visit to Israel, allegations that were denied through the media. The two representatives also rejected the call for a ceasefire.
For her part, MP España Begum highlighted the high rates of hate crimes against Muslims in London, which led to the evacuation of 700 people from a mosque, the London Islamic Center and 3 nearby schools, after a bomb threat, in an indication of an unprecedented escalation of hate crimes against Muslims.
Representative Kim Johnson also raised the British Journalists’ Union’s call to Parliament to praise the courage of journalists in Gaza and their commitment to reporting the truth, stressing that journalistic work has become a mission to collect evidence to document the atrocities committed by the Israeli government, and that this is the only way to accountability.
The Chairman of the session agreed to listen to the petitions and consider the MPs’ questions, in preparation for submitting the acceptable ones to the government. Some MPs expressed their hope that this session would be a step to “correct the course” of the United Kingdom’s position, and begin adopting the call for a ceasefire, similar to Spain and Portugal in Europe.