Today marks a year since the start of Israel’s ongoing genocidal assault against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Since 7 October last year, at least 42,000 Palestinians, more than 2,000 Lebanese people and over 1,200 Israelis have been killed. In Gaza, over two million people have been displaced – many of them multiple times – and infrastructure including schools, mosques, hospitals and universities have been destroyed. The entire population has been left facing famine. As we pass this horrific milestone, the genocide in Gaza continues alongside attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Israel is attacking and invading Lebanon, and we are confronted with the imminent threat of an even wider war.
In our immediate response to the escalation of violence starting on 7 October 2023, we spelled out our demand that international law and principles of human rights be applied consistently:
“International law must be the framework within which we judge acts of violence and their legitimacy. International law makes it clear that the deliberate killing of civilians, hostage-taking and collective punishment are war crimes. International law also enshrines the right of a people to resist oppression and military occupation.”
The violence of the past year is the bitter fruit of repeated failures by western governments – including Britain – to support this legal framework without discrimination. Instead, British political leaders have provided diplomatic and military support for Israel’s repeated and grave violations of international law, including its mass killing and cutting off food, water, electricity and medical supplies; frustrated efforts to hold Israel to account for war crimes; and continued to license the export weapons to Israel that are used to carry out atrocities. There was a stark contrast between the British government’s recent wholesale condemnation of Iran, on the one hand, and the complete absence of any condemnation of Israel, on the other, let alone a willingness to take the necessary actions to hold it to account for its crimes.
For the past year those who have stood up for international law have been demonised in the press and by politicians. But the British government’s position is increasingly untenable as the realities of Israel’s crimes are exposed. In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled it plausible that Israel is committing genocidal acts in its assault on Palestinians in Gaza. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders – including the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – for crimes against humanity and war crimes. In July, the ICJ further ruled that Israel’s decades-long occupation of Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem is unlawful and found Israel guilty of violating the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. In September, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for the implementation of the July advisory opinion of the ICJ, including through sanctions against Israel.
Throughout this year we have asserted the truth that the current violence can only be understood in the context of Israel’s 76 year-long regime of settler-colonialism, military occupation and apartheid. Violence will not end until this regime of oppression is dismantled.
The British government must not continue to treat Israel as an ally rather than using its influence to end impunity for a state that is practicing apartheid and is currently on trial for genocide. Today, we restate our demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to end Israel’s genocide, and for an end to all arms trade with Israel. In the face of Israel’s countless atrocities, Palestinians continue to steadfastly pursue their struggle for justice. We will continue to campaign in solidarity and uphold the right of the Palestinian people to freedom, self-determination and return.