Politics
Momentum welcomes Lammy’s moves on Unrwa funding and ICC, calls for arms embargo on Israel
But Labour source told the JC that the anti-Israel motion is unlikely to be debated
August 30, 2024 11:17
But Labour source told the JC that the anti-Israel motion is unlikely to be debated
August 30, 2024 11:17The main left-wing faction of Labour Party members has applauded key areas of the government’s policy towards Israel.
Momentum, a group set up during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party to support him, said it “welcomes the decisions of the Labour government to restore UNRWA funding and abandon Tory attempts to block the International Criminal Court (ICC) from holding Israeli leaders accountable for crimes against Palestinians.”
In a motion, which it is encouraging supporters to submit so that it will be debated by party members at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool in late September, the group also urges the Labour Party to take restrictive measures against Israel.
Backed by anti-Israel group the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, it urges the party to “support an immediate and permanent ceasefire”, “impose a full arms embargo until Israel complies with international law” and “end trade with illegal settlements and all other trade that aids or assists Israel in maintaining its illegal occupation”.
It further states, “Britain has a moral and legal obligation not to assist violations of international law. We must commit to the application of international law, including abiding by rulings and judgements of the ICJ and ICC.”
This motion is one of five other policy resolutions that the left-wing group is recommending party members to support.
However, a Labour source told the JC that the chances of Momentum’s motions making it to conference floor were unlikely, “Momentum and the Corbynite left will have very few delegates at this year’s annual conference so the chances of policy motions they are promoting getting debated is minimal.”
The government has been under pressure to make a decision on arms exports to Israel and a review of the process is ongoing. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman told the JC: “This government is committed to upholding international law. We have made clear that we will not export items if they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
“There is an ongoing review process to assess whether Israel is complying with international humanitarian law, which the Foreign Secretary initiated on day one in office. We will provide an update as soon as that review process has been completed.”
During Corbyn’s leadership, the Labour’s annual conference in 2018 saw scenes of delegates in the main conference hall waving Palestinian flags, and cheering and applauding attacks on Israel.
During one of the discussions, a delegate said to the audience: "If you want to know how that orchestration (of alleged antisemitism smears) works you need to watch that Al Jazeera documentary The Lobby", only to be chastised by the chair.