UK
Trade unionists shut down access to Foreign Office, demanding Government stops arming Israel
By Workers For a Free Palestine
JULY 24, 2024
Over 1,000 workers and trade unionists shut down access to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office headquarters in central London this Wednesday morning, demanding that the new Labour Government immediately halt all arms exports to Israel. To try to break the blockade, police dragged protesters across the floor at the Whitehall entrance and arrested six people.
The action comes as Israeli forces launched an assault on, and ordered the evacuation of, parts of a designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, killing nearly 100 people in one day, wounding several hundred more and forcing over 150,000 people to flee since Monday. It also follows one of the deadliest weeks in aerial attacks on Gaza since the onslaught started nine months ago and a damning new International Court of Justice ruling about Israel’s occupation clearly violating international law.
After Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns accused the Foreign Office of hiding legal advice that Israel is breaching International Humanitarian Law in Gaza in March, David Lammy – now Foreign Secretary – demanded the UK Government publish the advice and “suspend the sale of those arms” if the advice shows there is a “clear risk that UK arms might be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law.”
Today trade unionists are calling on the Foreign Secretary “to practice what he preached in opposition” and “meet his own demands” by immediately publishing the advice and suspending the sale of arms. They are also calling on the Foreign Secretary to withdraw the UK’s legal bid to block the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. In Opposition, David Lammy called on David Cameron to drop this, accusing the Conservatives in May 2024 of “U-turning on one of Britain’s most fundamental principles: respect for the rule of law.”
Today’s disruptive action follows parliamentary pressure on the new Labour Government to halt arms exports to Israel, including an amendment to the King’s Speech put forward by Labour MPs, and other amendments and questions from Lib Dem, SNP, Green and independent MPs. The Foreign Secretary signalled a few days ago that he has started a new process which would delay any such publication and this week he refused to answer a question from Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson about whether he will publish the legal advice in line with his own calls on David Cameron.
The ICJ has ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories – the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem – is a clear violation of international law. It ruled earlier this year that Israel’s actions in Gaza plausibly amounted to genocide and ordered Israel to comply with provisional measures, which it has failed to do. Even before the latest ICJ ruling, some 600 lawyers, legal academics, and former judges, including former Supreme Court justices and the Court’s former president Lady Hale, warned that the UK government is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel.
Today’s blockade has been organised by Workers for a Free Palestine in support of civil servants and members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) . The Foreign Office and the Department for Business and Trade are involved in granting arms export licences, thus playing a fundamental role in the continued sale of UK weapons used by the Israeli army. Civil servants have requested to “cease work immediately” on arms export licences to Israel over fears they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza, and their union PCS is considering bringing legal action to prevent their members from being forced to carry out unlawful acts.
Tania, a Unite member and organiser for Workers for a Free Palestine, taking part in the blockade said:
“We blocked all entrances to the Foreign Office, completely shutting down access to the building until the police started violently dragging people across the pavement on Whitehall. We disrupted the department in solidarity with the Palestinian people and with civil servants who are raising concerns about being forced to carry out unlawful acts, which no worker should ever be asked to do. By shutting down the Foreign Office, workers and trade unionists are supporting civil servants concerned with the legality of the Government’s actions, as well as standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“Keir Starmer and David Lammy have blood on their hands and we will not rest until they meet their legal and moral duty to end British complicity in war crimes, in accordance with the will of the people they purport to represent. It is shameful that the Labour Government is choosing to crack down on its citizens for peacefully protesting the UK’s complicity in Israel’s genocide rather than listening to the majority of the British public – including the droves of Labour voters who defected over Gaza – who want arms exports to Israel halted immediately. Indeed, David Lammy should listen to his own words from a few months ago when he called on the then Foreign Secretary to publish the legal advice and halt arms sales to Israel based on the Foreign Affairs Committee Chair’s account of its contents.
“The invasion of the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis is a devastating reminder that each day Labour refuses to halt arms exports, more Palestinians are slaughtered with UK support, and in some cases, with British made weapons. Today’s repression will not deter us from disrupting the flow of arms to Israel from arms factories in the UK or from blocking access to the Government departments which facilitate those exports.”
Harriet, an NHS A&E doctor and BMA member taking part in the blockade, said:
“Every day that the Labour Government refuses to halt arms sales to Israel, more people are killed in our country’s name and subsidised by our taxes, and Britain’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide deepens. No worker should be forced to carry out unlawful acts. By shutting down the Foreign Office, workers and trade unionists are supporting civil servants concerned with the legality of the Government’s actions, as well as standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“As a doctor, I can’t stand by and carry on as normal while the Government – and a Labour Government no less, which claims to stand up for human rights – arms the regime which is turning hospitals into mass graves, targeting and killing the workers who save the lives of others, who are doing the same job as me. We will keep showing up to shut down their buildings and disrupt the flow of arms to Israel. We will ensure the Labour Government knows no rest until they end their complicity in Israel’s war crimes, including the onslaught on a designated humanitarian zone happening right now.
“As our blockade today shows, if the Foreign Secretary refuses to listen to his staff and public opinion – and to his own demands from three months ago – by publishing the legal advice and suspending arms sales, workers will enforce an effective arms embargo themselves. We will keep shutting down the Departments which enable arms exports which are being used to wage a genocide in which the death toll could be as catastrophically high as 186,000 people according to medical researchers.”
Polling by You Gov shows that among all voters in the UK a majority of 56% to 17% are in favour of a ban on the export of arms and spare parts. By a majority of 59% to 12%, voters say Israel is violating human rights in Gaza. Before the general election, an overwhelming 71% to 9% of those intending to vote Labour backed an arms export ban, while Lib Dem voters support a ban by 70% to 14% and Conservative voters by 38% to 36%. Asked if Israel is violating human rights, Tory voters by two to one said Israel is doing so.
Workers For a Free Palestine is a network of workers and trade unionists organising blockades which shut down access to arms factories and key Government buildings to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel. This included shutting down all entrances to the Department of Business and Trade on May Day, as a result of which the Department closed the office and instructed all staff not to come into the office that day.
In a separate action, protestors have shut down a factory in Edinburgh in protest at the ongoing war in Gaza. The Leonardo plant was targeted due to its components being produced for Lockheed Martin, which sells jets to Israel. Rosemary, a teacher from Edinburgh, said: “I couldn’t stand by anymore and watch Israel commit a genocide with weapons made in our own city. As people who live in Scotland, whose friends and neighbours work at this factory, we have a responsibility to put pressure on arms manufacturers to comply with international law.”
Arrest of protesters blocking access to FCDO over arms sales to Israel amid attacks on Gaza humanitarian zone
From Workers For A Free Palestine
- At least six protesters arrested while blocking access to the Foreign Office on Wednesday morning at both the Whitehall entrance and the St James’ Park entrance.
- Workers and trade unionists blockaded the Foreign Office to demand the new Labour Government immediately publish legal advice and halt arms exports to Israel – as the Foreign Secretary called for in opposition – amid ongoing attack on Gaza humanitarian zone in Khan Younis. They’re chanting that Keir Starmer and David Lammy have “blood on their hands”
- To try to break the blockade, police dragged protesters across the floor at the Whitehall entrance and arrested six people.
Protesters shut down access to the Foreign Office as Israeli forces have ordered the evacuation of and invaded parts of a designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, killing nearly 100 people in one day and wounding several hundred more and forcing over 150,000 people to flee since Monday.
After Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns accused the FCDO of hiding legal advice that Israel is breaching International Humanitarian Law in Gaza in March, now-Foreign Secretary David Lammy demanded the UK Government publish the advice and “suspend the sale of those arms” if the advice shows there is a “clear risk that UK arms might be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law.” The ICJ’s damning new ruling further confirms that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories – the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem – is a clear violation of international law, with the ICJ having ruled earlier this year that Israel’s actions in Gaza plausibly amounted to genocide.
Today workers and trade unionists have been chanting that Keir Starmer and David Lammy have “blood on their hands” and calling on the Foreign Secretary “to practice what he preached in opposition” and “meet his own demands” by immediately publishing the advice and suspending the sale of arms. They are also calling on the Foreign Secretary to withdraw the UK’s legal bid to block the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, which David Lammy called on David Cameron to drop, accusing the Conservatives in May 2024 of “u-turning on on one of Britain’s most fundamental principles: respect for the rule of law”.
This disruptive action follows Parliamentary pressure on the new Labour Government to halt arms exports to Israel, including an amendment to the King’s Speech put forward by Labour MPs, and other amendments and questions from Lib Dem, SNP, Green and independent MPs. The Foreign Secretary signalled a few days ago that he has started a new process which would delay any such publication and this week he refused to answer a question from Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson about whether he will publish the legal advice in line with his own calls on David Cameron.
Today’s blockade has been organised by Workers for a Free Palestine in support of civil servants and PCS members. The FCDO and the Department for Business and Trade are involved in granting arms export licences, therefore playing a fundamental role in the continued sale of UK weapons used by the Israeli army. Civil servants have requested to “cease work immediately” on arms export licences to Israel over fears they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza, and their union PCS is considering bringing legal action to prevent their members from being forced to carry out unlawful acts.
Tania, a Unite member and organiser for Workers for a Free Palestine, taking part in the blockade said:
“We blocked all entrances to the Foreign Office, completely shutting down access to the building until the police started violently dragging people across the pavement on Whitehall. We disrupted the department in solidarity with the Palestinian people and with civil servants who are raising concerns about being forced to carry out unlawful acts, which no worker should ever be asked to do. By shutting down the Foreign Office, workers and trade unionists are supporting civil servants concerned with the legality of the Government’s actions, as well as standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“Keir Starmer and David Lammy have blood on their hands and we will not rest until they meet their legal and moral duty to end British complicity in war crimes, in accordance with the will of the people they purport to represent. It is shameful that the Labour Government is choosing to crack down on its citizens for peacefully protesting the UK’s complicity in Israel’s genocide rather than listening to the majority of the British public – including the droves of Labour voters who defected over Gaza – who want arms exports to Israel halted immediately. Indeed, David Lammy should listen to his own words from a few months ago when he called on the then Foreign Secretary to publish the legal advice and halt arms sales to Israel based on the Foreign Affairs Committee Chair’s account of its contents.”
“The invasion of the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis is a devastating reminder that each day Labour refuses to halt arms exports, more Palestinians are slaughtered with UK support, and in some cases, with British made weapons. Today’s repression will not deter us from disrupting the flow of arms to Israel from arms factories in the UK or from blocking access to the Government departments which facilitate those exports.”
Harriet, an NHS A&E doctor and BMA member taking part in the blockade, said:
“As a doctor, I can’t stand by and carry on as normal while the Government – and a Labour Government no less, which claims to stand up for human rights – arms the regime which is turning hospitals into mass graves, targeting and killing the workers who save the lives of others, who are doing the same job as me. We will keep showing up to shut down their buildings and disrupt the flow of arms to Israel. We will ensure the Labour Government knows no rest until they end their complicity in Israel’s war crimes, including the onslaught on a designated humanitarian zone happening right now.
“As our blockade today shows, if the Foreign Secretary refuses to listen to his staff and public opinion – and to his own demands from three months ago – by publishing the legal advice and suspending arms sales, workers will enforce an effective arms embargo themselves. We will keep shutting down the Departments which enable arms exports which are being used to wage a genocide in which the death toll could be as catastrophically high as 186,000 people according to medical researchers.”
- Workers For A Free Palestine is a network of trade unionists organising practical solidarity with the Palestinian people- you can follow them on Instagram and Twitter/X.
Image: Damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal aera in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Source; Correspondence with Wiki Palestine (Q117834684). Author: Wafa (Q2915969) in contract with a local company (APAimages), licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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