Keir Starmer is facing a political crisis, in part because of his support for Israel, as a rising star in the party calls for sanctions against the “pariah” state. Gaza has altered politics forever, and the shock waves are now reaching the UK.
British Member of Parliament Iqbal Mohamed asks if genocide, starvation, and the introduction of a death penalty for Palestinians alone are not red lines for this Labour government, then what is? The UK government must reevaluate its Israel policy now.
France, Great Britain, and Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state might matter someday. But, as usual, the Palestinians won’t get any immediate help from Europe, much less from North America, in stopping the Gaza genocide now.
The UK’s designation of Hamas, and possibly Palestine Action, as “terrorist” organizations shows that the proscription regime is not about preventing terrorism but silencing political views and free expression.
The European Union has the power to stop Israel’s rampant slaughter in Gaza. But even recent moves to pressure Israel reflect the EU’s unwillingness to stop the genocide.
Hamas’s application to the UK Home Secretary to remove its designation as a terrorist organization aims to build international support for Palestinian resistance and affirm the group’s role as a political actor in determining the future of Gaza.
The new London theater production “Cutting the Tightrope: The Divorce of Politics from Art” takes direct aim at the British government’s campaign to stifle free speech and activism on Palestine.
In recent weeks, journalists Sarah Wilkinson and Richard Medhurst, as well as Palestine Action co-founder Richard Barnard were all arrested under the the UK’s Terrorism Act. Critics say it is a direct attack on the Palestine movement.
Cardiff University’s encampment for Gaza was worried about police brutality based on the scenes they watched from the U.S. On June 3 their fears came true when South Wales police attacked protesters with an unprecedented level of violence.
As a university steeped in the legacy of Balfour, we have an urgent duty to end complicity in Israel’s settler colonial project. Divestment from companies complicit in occupation, apartheid, and genocide is the first step toward historical redress.