Six months on Greens call for a full bilateral ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the suspension of arms exports to Israel, and for key players in the Netanyahu government to be held accountable for possible war crimes

 

The Green Party has repeated its call for a full bilateral ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the suspension of arms exports to Israel, and for key players in the Netanyahu government to be held accountable for possible war crimes, six months on from the 7 October attacks by Hamas.  

Co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer, said:  

This isn’t just a far away conflict that we have nothing to do with. By consistently refusing to call for a ceasefire and continuing to supply arms, the UK Government has been complicit in the deadly assault on Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces.  

Six months on from the horrific Hamas attacks on Israeli citizens, it is clear that the Netanyahu government's response has been totally disproportionate. Over 33,000 innocent Palestinian civilians have now been killed, the majority of them women and children. This is not an act of self defence. As the UN’s Human Rights Council has resolved, the actions by the Israeli government are possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Indeed, the UK Government itself has reportedly concluded secretly that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law.  

It is time for our Government to end their complicity and start leading efforts towards peace. They must finally call for a ceasefire, immediately suspend arms exports to Israel and back the UN Human Rights Council’s call for accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

In the six months since October 7^th, the Green Party of England and Wales has called for:  

• A full bilateral ceasefire  
• The release of all hostages  
• A suspension of all arms export licences to Israel until the violence stops 
• The cessation of all military collaboration with Israel, including use of British bases by Israeli forces, and intelligence sharing 
• Targeted Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against individuals and institutions supporting or facilitating Israel’s occupation of Palestine 
• An investigation by the Metropolitan Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of war crimes committed against UK citizens, or where UK citizens are potential perpetrators 
• The UK government to use its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to vote for, rather than abstain on, ceasefire votes 
• Targeted sanctions against key individuals in the Israeli leadership, including travel bans and asset freezes on Israel’s government ministers 
• An end to occupation of the Palestinian territories 
• The UK government to return to international law being the benchmark for UK policy, and repair the UK’s international reputation as a defender of the international rules-based order. 

Green Party repeats call for UK Government to cancel all arms export licences to Israel

In the wake of the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy, which killed seven aid workers, the Green Party have repeated their call for the UK government to cancel all arms export licences to Israel.  

The Party’s Global Solidarity spokesperson and former Middle East diplomat, Carne Ross, said: 

The death of compassionate humanitarian volunteers was an outrageous and avoidable tragedy. The cynical attempts by the Netanyahu government to portray the attack on World Central Kitchen (WCK) as an accident have been dismissed by those agencies trying to feed the starving in Gaza. Under international humanitarian law, this humanitarian aid is the responsibility of the Israeli government, yet they are keeping routes closed and not ensuring that those emergency routes operated by aid agencies are safe.  

It is clear that the Israeli government is violating the terms of the licences under which arms are exported and is failing to abide by basic international humanitarian law. It is a national shame that we are arming the Israel defence forces who are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians. It appears that the deadly Israeli strike on the aid workers used a drone produced in the UK. This only strengthens the case for an immediate arms embargo.

It is hugely disappointing, but sadly predictable, to hear calls to end arms exports coming only after Western lives have been lost. It comes too late for the thousands of Palestinian children slaughtered by western supplied bombs and bullets.  

Foreign Secretary Cameron can show global leadership during his talks with NATO leaders today by first ending UK arms sales and then persuading other NATO countries to follow suit. We cannot allow the humanitarian calamity in Gaza to continue a day longer.