Caabu welcomes significant UK Government shift towards ending Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestine
9 September
Caabu welcomes the UK Government’s first and long overdue steps towards combatting Israel’s settlements, ending Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestine and policies of ethnic cleansing. Commenting on this in the media, Caabu’s Director Chris Doyle said: “This is the first time a British government is holding Israel to account, not through words and statements but actions. It is necessary and long overdue. If Israel continues to behave like a pariah state, it will be treated as a pariah state.”
The measures announced by the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon. Ed Miliband, on 8 September, including a ban on settlement goods and products from illegal Israeli settlements, sanctions on services, the restriction of arms sales as long as the occupation persists, were extensive. It demonstrated a major reset in UK Government policy to focus on international law, as well as justice and accountability for Palestinians.
Significantly the UK Government has formally accepted the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s definitive legal determination that the Israeli occupation is unlawful, and that the occupation must end.
The Israeli government response is a clear indication why such actions were needed. If Israel does not change its policies and actions, then the UK and others will need to take further action. This means Israel must end its campaign of home demolitions, forcible displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities across the West Bank, and its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary rightly also endorsed the roles of both the International Court of Justice and the UN Commission of Inquiry in determining if Israel is committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
What makes these actions substantive and impactful is that 11 other states are committed to similar action. Following the UK Government announcement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden have all confirmed their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures. This follows action already being taken or in the process of being taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.
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Notes to editors:
- For more information or interviews contact Chris Doyle on +44 (0)7968 040281
- Caabu has called for action against settlement trade for decades. It succeeded albeit temporarily to get Harrods to stop the sale of settlement products in 2002. It also lobbied successfully for the labelling of settlement goods to distinguish them from Israeli goods.
