UK Labour leader must commit to stop arming Israel to get our vote, activists say

Activists this morning dropped a banner from Westminster Bridge calling on Labour leader Keir Starmer to say he’ll end arms sales to Israel if he becomes prime minister.

This comes a day after a letter was published from more than 100 celebrities, including Riz Ahmed, Paloma Faith and Steve Coogan, calling on Keir Starmer to commit to ending arms sales to Israel if elected on 4 July.

It comes in the midst of Labour’s General Election campaign, during which the party has been under pressure from voters to take a tougher stance on Israel. With more than 36,000 killed in Gaza, Starmer has been criticised by some Labour voters across the country for initially failing to call for a ceasefire.

The Muslim Vote campaign has previously called for candidates to support policies that encompass freedom for Palestine, an end to Islamophobia and discrimination in social policies such as health and housing or risk losing votes at the next election.

Despite all the evidence of Israel’s war crimes, the weight of legal opinion and the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu faces arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, has refused to advocate for an end to arms sales to Israel.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign Director, Ben Jamal, has called on Starmer “to make clear if he takes international law seriously. If he does, then the course of action is clear – a Labour government would end arms sales to Israel.”

“No ethical or principled government would continue to supply arms to a genocidal state.”

Read: UK Labour leader Starmer says he wants to recognise Palestine as part of peace process