The day after Labour Party prime minister Keir Starmer addressed the Trades Union Congress (TUC) yearly congress, delegates have voted unanimously for a motion that reveals the inadequacy of the government’s approach to Israel’s ongoing assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza and in the West Bank.
TUC congress: end ALL arms export licences to Israel
Congress voted to condemn Israel’s decades of violations of the rights of Palestinians and call for an active UK policy to hold Israel to account. In a motion submitted by the National Education Union, with the support of Unison and Unite, the trade union movement heaped pressure on Labour by calling on the government to end all licenses for arms traded with Israel.
It’s a clear rebuke to the decision of foreign secretary David Lammy to suspend only 10% of arms export licenses, crucially excluding indirect exports of components for the F-35 combat aircraft known to have been used to massacre civilians in Gaza.
The motion recognised that Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza, and the subsequent toll of death and suffering, amount to a plausible case of genocide and should be met with a principled foreign policy that under the Genocide Convention requires all steps be taken to prevent genocide and punish those responsible.
The TUC congress called for sanctions against those individuals and entities that have incited genocide against Palestinians. This is in marked contrast to Labour’s position of treating Israeli prime minister Netanyahu as a key ally.
The TUC motion recognised that Israel’s offensive follows decades of violations of Palestinian human rights, ethnic cleansing and that throughout historic Palestine, Palestinians – including those living under occupation and those with Israeli citizenship – are subjected to a system of apartheid.
A clear dividing line between unions and Labour
As was the case of South African apartheid, this requires a concerted effort from the labour movement to dismantle it and congress called for sanctions and a ramping up of boycott and divestment campaigns to bring pressure to bear on those who are complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) director, said
We welcome the passing of this important motion which confirms the enduring support of the British trade union movement for the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
It marks a clear dividing line between the union movement, which is committed to ending Israel’s genocide, occupation and system of apartheid, and the Labour government which has so far taken a wholly inadequate approach to its obligations under international law.
The suspension of a small fraction of arms exports to Israel is a tap on the wrist with permission to continue – the Government has been scrambling to reassure this genocidal Israeli government of its continued support.
The time for half measures and hypocrisy is over. The Labour government must choose whether its stands with a state committing the crimes of genocide, occupation and apartheid, or with the millions of people in the unions and in the UK who want to see freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians.
Featured image via the Canary
