Calls for total UK arms export ban to increase pressure on Israel

Labour MPs and activists are urging the Labour Party to introduce stricter sanctions and a complete ban on arms exports to Israel in order to combat the oppression of Palestinians, according to a fringe event at the party's annual conference. MP Rosena Allin-Khan, who has worked in the occupied Palestinian territories, called for the government to go further and halt all arms trade with Israel, specifically targeting the F-35 fighter programme.

She also demanded immediate action to close loopholes that allow military equipment into the country.

Allin-Khan highlighted the need for the UK to create a coalition of like-minded governments and use its influence to provide much-needed medical equipment to the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, where over 174,000 people have been wounded and 50,000 have suffered life-changing injuries, a third of them children. Aseel Baidoun, deputy director of advocacy at Medical Aid for Palestinians, acknowledged the party's recognition of its mistakes and stated that while the situation on the ground has not changed, the activism of pro-Palestine supporters has finally been heard.

The Labour government's shift towards a more strident stance with Israel has strained diplomatic relations, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband acknowledging that the UK had "got it wrong" in its support for Israel, particularly regarding the "illegal occupation of Palestine" and allegations of "war crimes" in Gaza. Miliband claimed that the government had "called out ethnic cleansing" in the occupied West Bank.

Allin-Khan stressed the importance of tangible action and the need for the Labour Party to forge partnerships with other allies to impose additional sanctions and suspend Britain's free trade agreement with Israel.