Egypt opposition calls for UK sanctions against Israel

The Egyptian Revolutionary Council are calling on the British government to take all measures to immediately stop the massacres committed by Israel against the defenceless Palestinian people, which “amount to war crimes.”

This comes ahead of a debate due to be held in the House of Commons next week on introducing sanctions against Israel following its repeated violations of international law. The petition that Parliament will debate has had more than 385,000 signatures this week, and the number is growing.

The text of the petition reads: “The government should introduce sanctions against Israel, including blocking all trade, and in particular arms.”

“Its disproportionate treatment of Palestinians and settlements that are regarded by the international community as illegal are an affront to civilized society.”

READ: British pro-Palestine activists prove that direct action and BDS are effective 

It came after Israel brutally attacked Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the final days of Ramadan and went on to launch air strikes against the besieged Gaza Strip. Almost 300 Palestinians were killed across the occupied territories as a result of Israel’s attacks.

For 11 days, Israel launched attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip. Health officials in Gaza say 254 Palestinians, including 66 children and 39 women, were killed and more than 1,900 wounded in air and artillery bombardments.

The Egyptian Revolutionary Council also demanded those responsible for such crimes to be held responsible and tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC), “ in a similar way war criminals of former Yugoslavia and Rwanda were brought to justice.”

READ: Britain’s opposition to sanctions on Israel exposes its support for the occupation and its crimes

In addition, it urged the UK government to boycott the regime and its occupation including a halt to government military exports to Israel and a ban on all imports from illegal Israeli settlements.

It stated in its press release, “Israeli state violence towards the indigenous Palestinian population has never ceased. This includes a combination of warfare, territorial theft, and violent displacement of Palestinians who had been settled in these lands for centuries. The recent reports by Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem have documented this reality. Many of these violations amount to war crimes.

It also noted how it is increasingly clear that Israel has no intention of ending its occupation and dispossession of the Palestinian people and therefore, “outside measures are the only way that can meaningfully push Israel towards ending the aggression and respect Palestinian human rights.”