This evening, the UN Security Council will meet to vote on a US resolution on Gaza. It is expected to contain a formal endorsement of President Donald Trump’s so-called ‘Peace Plan.’ The British government should vote against this proposal, which aims to entrench the colonisation, fragmentation and occupation of Palestinian land by Israel. It should be seen as the next stage of the attempted erasure of the Palestinian people, not a plan to achieve justice or lasting peace.
Drafts of the US resolution indicate that it would authorise an “International Stablization Force” (ISF) to be deployed in Gaza and “govern” its people. This foreign military force would be overseen by a “Board of Peace”, chaired by President Donald Trump and reportedly set to include the war criminal and former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This board would not include meaningful Palestinian representation and instead amounts to a complete negation of Palestinian self-determination, which the Trump Plan dismisses as merely an ‘aspiration.’ This denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination is itself a violation of international law and, in accordance with findings of the International Court of Justice, so too is making this right conditional upon negotiations.
The resolution neglects to address Israel’s deepening apartheid in the rest of historic Palestine, including the escalation of settler and military led ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and it says nothing about the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
The fact the Trump Plan fails to provide any path to Palestinian self-determination, freedom, and justice is no surprise. Israel’s genocide has been armed and facilitated by the US and other Western powers, including Britain, following decades of complicity in Israel’s system of apartheid and occupation.
The British government must oppose this resolution at the UN Security Council and finally listen to the millions of people across the country who demand comprehensive sanctions on Israel’s apartheid regime, including a full arms embargo and an end to all trade that aids or assists Israel’s violations of international law.
After decades of colonisation and illegal occupation, and more than 2 years of genocide, the Palestinian people still resist their oppression and erasure. We must match their steadfastness. On November 29, marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we will again march in London in huge numbers, calling on the British government to end its complicity. Join us at 12 noon, Park Lane.