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Motion demands taking action to oppose the ‘catastrophic destruction of Gaza’ and Israeli settler violence.
The umbrella organisation for trade unions in the United Kingdom has passed a motion calling for an end to complicity in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
The Trades Union Congress, representing more than 5.3 million workers, voted in favour of the motion on Wednesday during its annual conference in Brighton, southern England. The vote marks the first time the congress has backed the Palestinian-led movement Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions known as BDS.
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“It’s essential for the trade union movement to answer the call from the BDS movement, to challenge all complicity and to use our collective powers, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Palestinians to Free Palestine,” said Zita Holborne from Artists’ Union England, which put forward the motion.
The unanimous vote demands that the Trades Union Congress take action to oppose what the motion described as the “catastrophic destruction of Gaza” and Israeli settler violence “supported by the IDF [Israeli army]”.
The steps include campaigning to end military cooperation and arms deals with Israel, calling on the government to impose wide-ranging sanctions on Israel and backing trade union-led campaigns in support of Palestine.
Co-founder of the BDS movement, Omar Barghouti, welcomed the development.
“This mass movement of solidarity with the people of Palestine, led by Palestine Solidarity Campaign with many trade unions affiliated to it, is the reason why your government was compelled to adopt minor measures in the right direction to end its complicity,” Barghouti said.
“But it’s way short of the UK’s legal obligations to end complicity in genocide, in apartheid, in illegal occupation. So, we must work further to grow our BDS movement.”
The motion puts additional pressure on the government to take a stronger stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Last week, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on importing goods from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. Addressing Parliament, Miliband denounced “settler terrorists” for carrying out what he described as “ethnic cleansing” in parts of the West Bank.
However, the foreign secretary said he “wholeheartedly” opposes BDS, stressing that the UK would continue to “support important and valued trade” with Israel that adheres to international law.
Peter Leary, deputy director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told Al Jazeera that Wednesday’s vote marked a “tipping point”.
“In marked contrast to Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s attempt to dismiss the Palestinian BDS movement, trade unions are paving the way to secure real change, and we must keep up the pressure to force the government to take meaningful action and end all military, diplomatic and economic support for Israel,” he said.
Al Jazeera has reached out to the Trades Union Congress and the UK government but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
