The situation is dire. Rishi Sunak must suspend all arms sales to Israel
This week millions of people across the country are watching the deteriorating situation in Rafah, southern Gaza, in both horror and disbelief.
Not just because of the continued scenes of violence as Israel undertakes a ground invasion that will cost lives, but at the failure of the UK Government to either speak out or take action.
The actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hardliners to ‘achieve’, in their words, ‘total victory’ is simply indefensible. Over 34,000 people in Gaza are already dead, with the majority of victims women and children.
Almost 70% of homes have been damaged or destroyed – many victims of bombardement are still thought to be buried in the rubble.
Over a million displaced people are sheltering in tents and makeshift shelters in and around Rafah.
The situation is dire, and Israel’s aggression will only make things worse.
But while people in the UK, and across the world, take to the streets en masse to raise their voices and organise pressure and protest within their communities, our Government hasn’t taken nearly enough action.
The Prime Minister, when pressed, has said that he is ‘deeply concerned’ about the full military incursion, but remains quiet on what, outside of simply asking Netanyahu nicely, he plans to do about those concerns.
And while Sunak is right that Israel has a right to defend itself, it does not have the right to break international law – and senior members of the UK Government themselves have acknowledged that ‘it is not easy to see’ how a devastating ground offensive in Rafah could possibly be consistent with international humanitarian law.
Even the Foreign Secretary David Cameron himself previously suggested in February that it would be difficult for the effects of such a move from the Israeli Government to be limited to military targets and protect civilians adequately.
If they have any red lines, now would be the time to actually stick to them.
Continuing the same policy of implicit support for the actions of the Israeli Government is immoral.
There is barely any power, sanitation, healthcare, water or food in Rafah. NGOs have warned that a ground invasion at this point would cause a catastrophic ‘complete collapse’ of the humanitarian response.
The UK cannot continue to look away – and even worse, be actively complicit – as potential atrocities are carried out with our support.
The British Government must use every tool at its disposal now to oppose violence and help build the global pressure on both Hamas and the Israeli Government to agree to an immediate bilateral ceasefire, the unconditional release of the hostages, and access for humanitarian aid.
That starts with Sunak making an urgent move to suspend all arms sales and export licences to Israel.
Because rules are clear that exports can’t be given the green light if there’s a clear risk they might be used in a violation of international humanitarian law.
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The Government cannot continue to block their ears, close their eyes and bury their heads in the sand.
They must act now to block every single arms component manufactured in the UK from being sent to Israel – like the F35 bomber parts engineered on my constituents’ doorsteps at the L3Harris factory in Brighton.
Secondly, the Government must recommence funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) without any further delay.
The UN has conducted its investigation into UNWRA’s neutrality and its findings refute claims that many of the staff belong to terror groups, yet still there is no action, even as the World Food Programme warns there is now full-blown famine in northern Gaza and the UN says that Israeli restrictions on aid may amount to starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime.
Third, the UK should send a clear message to the Israeli Government that there are consequences for breaking international law, whether that’s by speaking out in clear condemnation of an attack, backing South Africa in their case at the International Court of Justice, or even broader sanctions suspending wider preferential trade.
Last, and perhaps most importantly of all, the UK must not continue to be absent from global efforts to end the violence. We have serious influence with allies across the EU, the United States and beyond, as well as a seat on the UN Security Council.
We have one of the biggest diplomatic networks in the world. Our much-vaunted soft power, or what remains of it, must be used now to the fullest possible extent to support and build international coalitions for peace and justice.
Sunak may not have long left as Prime Minister, but if he fails to recognise the gravity of this moment and do everything in his power to stop further catastrophic violence, this is what will come to define his time in office as the UK leader who turned his back on the mass suffering of a desperate and innocent people.
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