Agreed at the Lambeth UNISON branch committee 17 October 2023

Lambeth Unison and Lambeth Black Worker’s group are gravely concerns by the current war in Israel and Palestine and the atrocity being committed in Gaza. We urge the UK Government and the opposition Labour Party to STOP blindly supporting and funding the Zionist Israeli regime in bombing the Gazi strip and indiscriminate killing of innocent Palestine civilians’ population.  

Hamas attack may be wrong, but two wrongs does not make it right.   Two million innocent Gaza residents who are trapped and imprisoned cannot be condemned. British people do not support killing of innocent peoples. Not in my Name. Please do not kill innocent people in our name. We do not want to be in the side of the oppressor and be party to the mass genocide of innocent impoverished Palestine people of Gaza and wider Palestinian people.

Arab minority Jews, Christian and majority Muslim were peacefully coexisting in the land of Palestine for many centuries. The seed of the problem in the region was actually started by British colonialist/imperialist in 1917  with the establishment of  Balfour Declaration ( see Balfour Declaration – Wikipedia) and their ongoing support led to the establishment of the Zionist regime , the state of Israel around 1948. 

Since 1948 the Zionist Israeli government has been pursing policy of ethnic cleansing ‘ Naqba’ (see Nakba – Wikipedia) and their ongoing oppression, killing and  seizing  of Palestinian Muslim land and creating illegal Israeli settlement at the expense of Palestinian and  contrary to the UN Resolution.

The UN and the World’s community watched and ignored the Palestinian plights. The Zionist government’s apartheid system been allowed to flourish without consequences, which resulted in the largest open-air prison of refugee, where the Israeli government and its powerful military force in the region with tight land, sea and air blockade of Gaza deny residents their basic Human Rights and Freedom of Movement. It is a very abhorrent state of affair, where the Zionist government do not even recognise the 2 million people of Gaza as human but reduce them to mere “animals”. Furthermore, they continually occupy more and more Palestine land in breach of international law.

The Zionist at their whim stop food, water, electricity, medicine, other necessity and oppressed the people as they wish. This is exactly what they are doing now applying a medieval seized tactic. A war crime, indiscriminately killing innocent civilian population; baby, children, women, elderly, medics, and aid workers by carpet bombing residential buildings in Gaza.

Shamefully the UK governments and many of the western allies are ignoring and supporting the oppression in the region.

Given the history and gravity of situation in the region the British Government has duty of care to ensure peace is established as a matter of urgency.  A lasting political solution needs to be found. This need to be done with fairness, justice, and equity without any bias.  We demand the following from our government:

Our demands

• UK Government, rather than stoking up the war must immediately persuade Israeli Government to exercise restraint and stop immediately its military actions and seize against Gaza population and allow Humanitarians aids.

• UK government, EU countries, USA and Arab countries must work together and negotiate ceasefire and find political solution for ever lasting peace. Which is fair and just.  For example, recognising and help establishing Independent Palestinian state with full freedom of an independent state without any interference and occupation. The Palestine state as minimum must be based on pre-1967 borders. This position reflects the international consensus, successive UN resolutions and international law, and provides the most realistic chance of peace.

• UK government use its special relation to persuade USA to support the establishment of Independent Palestinian based on pre-1967 borders and stop the USA from supporting Israel with arms and monies.

• UK government and the EU ends all arms trade and military collaboration with Israel. We support a mandatory UN arms embargo on Israel and believe that companies supporting Israel’s military industry should end their complicity.

• The suspension of the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement and the European Union/Israel association agreement until Israel is in full compliance of its human rights clauses and international law;

• Support from the UK Government to Palestinians in referring human rights violations to the International Criminal Court;

• The immediate recognition of an independent Palestinian state by the United Nations and the UK government;

• Force Israel to return land to Palestinian people that was illegally seized.