JJP E-action letter to MPs: sanctions on Israel

On 11 June the JJP executive asked all our signatories and supporters to send this e-action letter to to their MPs.

letter

sanctions on Israel

Dear……….

I am one of your Jewish constituents. I am writing to urge you to demand that the government now takes the strong action promised in the “Joint statement on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank”, issued by the United Kingdom, Canada, and France on 19 May. Important countries speaking out was long-overdue. The statement rightly vilified Israel’s war on the people of Gaza, its restriction on humanitarian aid to Gaza, and settler violence, and accelerated expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

The Foreign Secretary described the war as “abhorrent” and “repellent”. Israel has not desisted at all but the government has not imposed any meaningful sanctions. In fact, Israel has showed utter contempt contempt for us, the Canadians and the French. United Nations data shows that the rate of killing and wounding in Gaza increased considerably in the two weeks after 19 May.

There was an average of 53 deaths and 153 injuries per day in the two months before 19 May, rising to an average of 61 deaths and 242 injuries per day afterwards. Those are increases of 15% and 61%. However, the full situation is even worse. There is no data at all for Northern Gaza from 23 to 31 May, because officials were unable to get access there. Therefore, the increases in rates of deaths and injuries are certainly higher than the available data shows, and possibly much higher.

In addition to increasing the rate of assault in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Ministry announced the approval of 22 new West Bank settlements. The Ministry said “The new settlements are all placed within a long-term strategic vision, whose goal is to strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory, to avoid the establishment of a Palestinian state…”

Hamas undoubtedly committed a war crime and a crime against humanity on 7 October 2023, killing more than 1,100 people, more than two-thirds of them civilians, and taking some 250 hostages. Nevertheless, in its assault on Gaza, Israel has gone far, far beyond a state’s duty to protect its citizens. It has clearly been flouting the principles of proportionality and discrimination central to the protection of civilians in time of war. Authoritative scholars of genocide and the holocaust concluded more than a year ago that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel has already killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians and wounded more then 125,000. More than 14,000 are missing, buried under the rubble and presumed dead. The Israeli government must be prevented from continuing its genocidal attacks, and from attempting to ethnically cleanse Gaza and the refugee camps of the West Bank. The reputation of the countries which observe but do nothing effective will be indelibly stained.

The UK announced some sanctions on 19 May on named, extremist settlers and local Israeli companies active in setting up settlement outposts. They barred entry to the UK, froze any UK bank accounts and barred any UK entity from giving them financial services. They predictably proved useless. On 10 June, the UK joined Canada, Norway, Australia and New Zealand in imposing exactly the same ineffective sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the two far-right ministers most responsible for inciting the unrestrained violence against the Palestinians. At the very most, they will be a minor inconvenience to them.

The need to act is now imperative and urgent. Very strong sanctions will be necessary to compel Israel to change course. The government will have to face Israel down. If it doesn’t, Israel will be further emboldened to continue ethnically cleansing Gaza and taking more and more of the West Bank. The credibility of the U.K.’s commitment to international law will be badly eroded, perhaps fatally.

Sanctions should include suspending tariff-free status of all Israeli imports; Immobilising all Israel’s foreign exchange reserves held in London, as has been done to Russia; suspending all arms exports to Israel; restrictions on business services; and refusing entry to all Israeli government ministers and senior military officers. Weaker sanctions will not suffice.

I urge you to speak up in the House and demand that our government take these steps now.

Yours sincerely,