:GREEN LEFT STATEMENT: ISRAEL’S ONGOING WAR CRIMES WARRANT A STRONGER BDS CAMPAIGN Friday May 14th 2021

 Israel's ongoing war crimes warrant a stronger BDS campaign

 

Israel's latest war crimes have extended its long-time settler-colonial apartheid role, namely: displacing more indigenous Palestinians and countering any resistance through more collective punishment. Under international law, an illegally occupied people has the right to resist its occupier, while the occupier has a duty to protect the people whom it occupies. Instead Israel regularly dispossess and attacks them, while pleading 'self defence' to justify its crimes.

 

The long-time street slogan, 'Death to Arabs', has become more widespread. It has extended into physical attacks against Palestinian citizens of Israel and thus to street fights with Jewish Israelis. Israel's racist character has been more clearly revealed to the world and to Israelis themselves. 

 

For several decades this racist regime has assumed that the Jewish Israeli population could continue 'normal' life, avoiding any negative consequences from Israel's war crimes. And the regime likewise has assumed that the Palestine National Authority would successfully police the occupied people in order to protect the colonisation project. Now these arrogant assumptions have been undermined by widespread revolt throughout historic Palestine. 

 

For several decades Israel's settler-colonial apartheid regime has continued its war crimes with full support from Western allies. Since 2005 the BDS campaign has sought to undermine that international support, especially from governments and companies. In Britain we have a responsibility to intensify the BDS campaign, in particular: 

 

** by opposing the UK-Israel arms trade, now especially through Palestine Action's campaign against Elbit Systems;

** by demanding that pension funds divest from any companies complicit in the Occupation, and 

** by demanding that local authorities avoid or terminate any contracts with such companies..

 

For GPEW members, this means fully implementing our pro-BDS policy in 2008 and 2014 conference motions. The GPEW leadership should publicise that commitment to the BDS campaign and encourage the membership's active involvement. The leadership should vocally support the many pro-Palestine demonstrations in this country and mobilise for Saturday’s ‘March for Palestine’ Assemble March Arch 12 noon to march to the Israeli Embassy.

 

 

 

Demonstration information: https://www.palestinecampaign.org/

 

Link to PSC Facebook site for updates: https://www.facebook.com/palestinesolidarityuk

 

Also Twitter: @PSCupdates

 

Link to Green Party BDS Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/greenpartybds