United Kingdom (UK)
Updated 2024-08-29
2024-08-21 UK Ministers at Risk of Liability for Supporting Israeli War Crimes: Legal Expert Amid reports that government officials have expressed doubt that the United Kingdom can continue supporting Israel’s assault on Gaza without breaking international law, a legal expert commissioned by a rights group warned the Labour Party on Wednesday that government ministers could be liable for possible war crimes committed by the Israel Defense Forces.
Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden wrote to Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday, advising him that the organization has commissioned a leading lawyer, Sam Fowles of Cornerstone Barristers, to provide a legal analysis of the U.K.’s potential breach of international law via its support for Israel.
Fowles determined that “the U.K. and individuals, including government ministers and senior civil servants, may be liable for crimes committed by the Israeli state or Israeli personnel during the country’s ongoing military operation in Gaza and through the country’s unlawful occupation of Gaza and the West Bank,” wrote Dearden, with the potential liability arising from the U.K.’s continued “aid and assistance provided to Israel.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/uk-israel-2669001393
2024-08-21 ‘Can’t Make This Up’: Journalist Arrested Under UK Anti-Terror Law Hours After Criticizing It “I criticized the Terrorism Act before getting on the plane, then got arrested under the Terrorism Act upon landing.”
Richard Medhurst, a Syrian-British independent journalist who defends Palestinians’ right to resist Israeli apartheid, occupation, and other crimes, said this week that he was recently arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport and held for nearly 24 hours for allegedly running afoul of a highly controversial anti-terrorism law critics say is used to silence legitimate dissent.
Medhurst—who is known for his work opposing U.S., British, and Israeli war crimes in the Middle East and for his advocacy for formerly imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange—said on social media Tuesday: “I criticized the Terrorism Act before getting on the plane, then got arrested under the Terrorism Act upon landing. Can’t make this up.”
“They arrested me—not detained—they arrested me under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and accused me of allegedly ‘expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a prescribed organization,’ but wouldn’t explain what this meant,” he continued. https://www.commondreams.org/news/richard-medhurst
2024-08-19 ‘Complicit in War Crimes’: UK Official Resigns Over Arms Sales to Israel A British diplomat on Friday resigned in protest of the United Kingdom’s arm sales to Israel, saying that there is “no justification” for the sales and that Israel has committed war crimes.
Mark Smith, who was a second secretary at the U.K. embassy in Dublin, had a previous official role working on arms export licensing assessments for the Middle East, he said. He is the first known British official to resign over the war in Gaza.
“It is with sadness that I resign after a long career in the diplomatic service; however, I can no longer carry out my duties in the knowledge that this department may be complicit in war crimes,” says the email, which was later verified by other sources.
“There is no justification for the U.K.’s continued arms sales to Israel yet somehow it continues,” it says. https://www.commondreams.org/news/british-official-resigns-israel-gaza
2024-07-26 UK Dropping Challenge to ICC Arrest Warrants for Israeli Leaders Under New PM The U.K. has announced that it is no longer going to pursue its legal challenge to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) seeking of arrest warrants for key Israeli leaders behind the Gaza genocide, helping to clear the way for the warrant to be issued.
A spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the new Labour government believes in international law and the separation of powers when it comes to the ICC’s determinations.
“This was a proposal by the previous government which was not submitted before the election, and which I can confirm the government will not be pursuing in line with our long-standing position that this is a matter for the court to decide,” the Starmer spokesperson said. https://truthout.org/articles/uk-dropping-challenge-to-icc-arrest-warrants-for-israeli-leaders-under-new-pm/
2024-07-26 Labour Ditches Tory Plan to Oppose ICC Request for Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Now the United Kingdom’s government must “stop selling Israel weapons,” said one observer.
The United Kingdom’s newly elected Labour government abandoned plans by its Tory predecessor to challenge the International Criminal Court’s May application for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. https://www.commondreams.org/news/uk-netanyahu-arrest-warrant
2024-06-03 The Comma That Erases Genocide Israel wants to muddy the waters — as it always does — so it can carry on with its genocide, writes Jonathan Cook. Here’s an example of how the Western media help it along. Israel’s claim that a single comma exempts it from having to respect the International Court of Justice’s order on May 24 to immediately halt its murderous attack on Rafah should be ridiculed.
Instead it is being given space to breathe by complicit media like The Guardian. The paper’s diplomatic editor offers an “analysis” that takes seriously claims by Israel and the two judges at the ICJ — one an Israeli — who dissented from the ruling approved by the other 13. They argue the following:
“The world is wrong to think that the ICJ has required Israel to halt its Rafah assault and any actions elsewhere in Gaza that are genocidal. Instead, a comma in the text qualifies the ruling to mean the court wants Israel to halt its actions in Rafah and elsewhere only if they are genocidal. Because Israel’s actions are not genocidal, the court is not, in fact, asking Israel to halt anything.” https://consortiumnews.com/2024/06/03/the-comma-that-erases-genocide/
2024-05-11 Palestine Talks | Ashish Prashar on defunding the UK government to stop ‘genocide in Gaza’ British political activist Ashish Prashar joins TRT World to discuss his recently launched campaign that aims to withhold taxpayer money from the UK government in order to end “genocide in Gaza”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfkA2JFR3EA&list=PLUW304lJeu3Vg_nM0WQfWDZTDyu6h6PlD&index=4
2024-03-14 UK Genocide UK’s anti-genocide protesters say: “Put your money where your mouth is.” https://www.tiktok.com/@ajplus/video/7346219134729981214
2024-03-14 New UK Definition of ‘Extremism’ Called Attack on Right to Dissent “The government should recognize that real British values involve defending the rights of all political opponents to speak freely and openly,” said one advocate.
Coming weeks after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed the United Kingdom is in danger of “mob rule… replacing democratic rule,” a new definition of “extremism” published by the government on Thursday was viewed by one rights advocate as a “smash and grab” on the right to protest, among other freedoms.
The Conservative government updated the definition of the word under its anti-extremism agenda, known as Prevent. The government will now treat as extremism “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.”
“The government will undertake a robust process to assess groups for extremism against the definition, which will then inform decisions around government engagement and funding,” said a public notice from Michael Gove, Sunak’s secretary of state for leveling up, housing, and communities. The government is expected to release a list in the coming weeks of groups it deems as in violation of the new definition of extremism. https://www.commondreams.org/news/uk-extremism-definition
2024-03-01 George Galloway Wins UK Parliament Seat in Landslide After Pro-Palestinian Campaign British politician George Galloway warned the Labour Party leadership Thursday evening that his victory in the town of Rochdale’s parliamentary election signaled “a shifting of the tectonic plates” following a campaign in which he vehemently defended Palestinian rights and condemned the U.K. government for backing Israel during its monthslong slaughter of civilians in Gaza.
“Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” Galloway said after declaring victory, addressing the Labour Party leader. “You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe presently going on… in the Gaza Strip.”
Galloway easily won the by-election, which was called after the death of Labour MP Tony Lloyd in January, garnering 12,335 votes—nearly twice as many as the runner-up, independent candidate David Tully. https://www.commondreams.org/news/george-galloway
2024-02-03 ‘Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide’ – Hundreds of US, EU, UK Civil Servants Issue Joint Statement on Gaza More than 800 civil servants from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have released a statement criticizing their governments’ support of Israel in its ongoing aggression on Gaza, warning that such policies could be contributing to war crimes and violations of international law.
The ‘transatlantic statement’ emphasized that Western governments risk being complicit in “one of the worst human catastrophes of this century” by failing to hold Israel to the same international humanitarian aid and human rights standards they apply to other countries. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/ethnic-cleansing-and-genocide-hundreds-of-us-eu-uk-civil-servants-issue-joint-statement-on-gaza/
2024-01-15 South Africa to sue US, UK for complicity in Gaza genocide Nearly 50 South African lawyers, led by attorney Wikus Van Rensburg, are gearing up to file a lawsuit against the United States and the United Kingdom, asserting their complicity in Israeli forces’ war crimes in Palestine, Anadolu Agency reports. This initiative follows South Africa’s filing of a genocide case against “Israel” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Rensburg, the driving force behind the legal action, aims to prosecute those complicit in the crimes through civilian courts, collaborating with legal professionals in the US and UK. In an interview with Anadolu, Rensburg emphasized the need to hold the US accountable for its actions and highlighted the forthcoming legal proceedings against Washington and London.https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/south-africa-to-sue-us–uk-for-complicity-in-gaza-genocide
2024-01-12 FM calls for parliament recall over Yemen strikes Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf has called for the UK parliament to be recalled over the air strikes in Yemen. The UK and US strikes against Houthi rebel sites have been described by Rishi Sunak as “necessary and proportionate” to protect the global shipping in the Red Sea.
He told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Let there be no equivocation that the SNP align ourselves with the UN security resolution, which is essentially calling for the Houthi rebels to stop their attacks in the Red Sea.
“But of course the UK’s record on military intervention, particularly in the Middle East, is not a good one. “Before action was taken, the correct and appropriate thing to have done would have been to have recalled parliament, who have given serious detail about any proposed military action.” He added: “There are significant questions around the action taken. What is the end goal? What will be deemed as a success?” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fm-calls-for-parliament-recall-over-yemen-strikes/ar-AA1mRq3g
2023-10-14 UK Labour says Israel has “right” to starve Gaza children As Britain this week announced that its military could actively participate in Israel’s genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, the main opposition party also loudly advertised its complicity in the starvation of 2.3 million people. “Israel does have that right,” said Labour leader Keir Starmer when asked by LBC Radio if he thinks “siege is appropriate? Cutting off power, cutting off water?” He repeated the false Israeli talking point pushed by most Western governments that “Israel has a right to defend herself.” https://asawinstanley.substack.com/p/uk-labour-says-israel-has-right-to
2023-10-04 Jewish Labour Movement says it brought down Corbyn UK pro-Israel lobby group the Jewish Labour Movement suggested on Monday that it was responsible for the downfall of Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader. https://asawinstanley.substack.com/p/jewish-labour-movement-says-it-brought
2023-07-12 How Jeremy Corbyn Was Toppled by the Israel Lobby ASA WINSTANLEY’S NEW book shows how the Israel lobby weaponized antisemitism to create a new McCarthyism to bring down Jeremy Corbyn and those building a genuine socialist Labour Party.
The lobby’s campaign against Corbyn got help from the Israeli government, British intelligence, and the entire British media, including the liberal Guardian newspaper, the BBC, the right wing of the Labour Party, and even the CIA. Corbyn and the socialists in the Labour Party in England were crushed by the massive campaign. Labeling Corbyn as an antisemite was a preposterous charge, but it has stuck. The Labour Party now has reverted to the way it was when Tony Blair, a supporter of austerity and America’s war in Iraq, was the head of what was called “New Labour.”
It has a lesson for those of us in the Palestinian solidarity movement working for social justice in the U.S. The Israel lobby lied, cynically manufacturing a fake crisis of antisemitism in the Labour Party where it didn’t exist, using fear to succeed. The lobby cannot be placated. They need to be called out and confronted. https://againstthecurrent.org/how-jeremy-corbyn-was-toppled-by-the-israel-lobby/
2022-09-28 How Britain’s Labour party became a criminal conspiracy against its members For many years, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters have claimed that he, and they, were targeted in a coordinated attack from the right of the party, comprising a majority of Labour MPs as well as senior party staff. The aim was to sabotage Corbyn’s chances of taking power.
Now, over the past few days, Al Jazeera has aired a shocking three-part investigation, “The Labour Files”. Running close to four hours in its online format, it is based on even more leaked documents, and reveals the complete sabotage of the party’s democratic processes by the Labour right, including by many of its senior MPs. Those processes were hijacked to carry out purges of the party’s left based in most cases on false accusations, fabrications, misrepresentations and smears. https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/how-britains-labour-party-became
2021-10-14 After Corbyn, Israel lobby turns its guns on UK academia The Israel lobby appears to be readying for a campaign to root out leftwing academics in the UK critical of Israel’s continuing oppression of the Palestinian people – echoing its efforts against the previous leader of Britain’s Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn. https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/after-corbyn-israel-lobby-turns-its
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