Hi John,
In the early hours of 29 February, Israeli troops fired on crowds of desperate Palestinians gathered to collect flour in Gaza City. 112 people were killed, and 760 injured.
In the words of a group of UN experts, “Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since 8 October. Now it is targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys.”(1)
But the very week the ‘flour massacre’ took place, our government was in the middle of trade talks with Israel.
That’s why, last week, we joined with groups including Amnesty International, ActionAid and Trade Justice Movement in calling for an immediate suspension of the UK-Israel trade agreement and a halt to further trade talks.(2)
Join us in demanding a suspension of this trade agreement and a halt to trade talks with Israel.
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In January, the International Court of Justice recognised that a genocide was plausibly taking place in Gaza, and imposed provisional measures on Israel to prevent that genocide.
But this ruling wasn’t only relevant to Israel. It places a duty on all countries to also take measures to prevent genocide, especially those like Britain which have a close relationship with Israel.
But the British government seems to be headed in exactly the opposite direction. Not only are they continuing to arm Israel, but they are also deepening our economic relationship with Israel in a way which heightens complicity in war crimes.
Britain’s trade deal with Israel, effectively a post-Brexit continuity version of the EU-Israel trade agreements, is supposedly based upon respect for human rights. It is hard to imagine what more crimes a state would need to commit before these human rights clauses would be activated, and the trade deal suspended.
But Britain is now going beyond that trade deal, attempting to beef up security and technology ties with Israel including through strengthening military ties, and through closer links in sectors such in AI, science, technology and cyber security. All of these areas present risks of complicity in war crimes.
We cannot allow our government to continue fuelling the horror we’re watching unfold in Gaza. Join us in demanding a suspension of our trade agreement and a halt to trade talks with Israel.
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It’s hard not to feel powerless when looking at what’s happening in Gaza. But there are things we can do – not least challenging our own government’s complicity in the situation.
Things are moving. Last month, Spain and Ireland demanded an immediate assessment of whether Israel is complying with human rights obligations in their trade deal with Israel.(3) Yesterday, Canada announced a halt to arms sales to Israel.(4)
It’s long past time for Britain to end its complicity in Israel’s war crimes. Together we can make sure the UK government feels the pressure on every front - including when it comes to trade.
Thank you,
Nick Dearden
Director, Global Justice Now
Notes
- UN experts condemn ‘flour massacre’, urge Israel to end campaign of starvation in Gaza, UN Human Rights, 5 March 2024
- Open letter: Suspending trade agreements and negotiations in response to the ICJ ruling on Gaza, Global Justice Now and others, 13 March 2024
- Ireland and Spain demand EU reviews Israel trade deal over rights obligations, 14 February 2024
- Canada stops arms sales to Israel: Who else has blocked weapons exports?, Al Jazeera, 20 March 2024
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