Tag: Israel

Foreign Secretary calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

David Lammy is visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to progress diplomatic efforts for long-term peace and security in the region

  • Foreign Secretary calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a rapid increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza on first Middle East visit.
  • In meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas, David Lammy makes the urgent case for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
  • The Foreign Secretary announces £5.5m to UK-Med to support their ongoing work to provide humanitarian assistance and medical treatment to those in Gaza.

David Lammy visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories yesterday [Sunday, 14 July] on his first trip to the Middle East since becoming Foreign Secretary.   

He focused on the UK’s diplomatic role in helping to bring the conflict in Gaza to an end and making progress towards long-term peace and security in the Middle East.     

He raised the urgent need for a ceasefire agreed by both sides, which includes the release of all hostages and a rapid increase of aid into Gaza.     

The Foreign Secretary also announced that the UK will provide another £5.5m this year to UK-Med to fund their life-saving work in Gaza.

UK-Med is a frontline medical aid charity who send experienced humanitarian medics, including those working in the NHS, to crisis-hit regions to deliver life and limb-saving health care.  

This funding will be used to support the ongoing work of their field hospitals and the emergency department at Nasser Hospital. It will allow medics, including those from the UK, to continue carrying out vital work to treat thousands more patients suffering from acute respiratory illnesses, infections, and explosive fragmentation trauma cases.

Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable. This war must end now, with an immediate ceasefire, complied with by both sides. The fighting has got to stop, the hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists need to be released immediately and aid must be allowed in to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions.

“I am meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stress the UK’s ambition and commitment to play its full diplomatic role in securing a ceasefire deal and creating the space for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.

“The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. 

“Central to this is to see an end to expanding illegal Israeli settlements and rising settler violence in the West Bank. Here, in what should be a crucial part of a Palestinian state, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem, we need to see a reformed and empowered Palestinian Authority.”

In Israel, the Foreign Secretary held high-level talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog to reiterate the need to end the conflict in Gaza and secure the release of hostages.

Mr Lammy met with hostage families with links to the UK whose loved ones have been murdered or taken by Hamas.   

Highlighting more than 680 tonnes of UK aid in the region and waiting to enter Gaza, including medicines, shelters and hygiene kits, the Foreign Secretary pushed the desperate need to rapidly increase aid into Gaza.    

In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to delivering reform and reiterate the UK’s support to PM Mustafa and his government.  

The UK has provided £10 million in aid to support the Palestinian Authority this financial year through the World Bank. The funding will provide vital support for key services, for example through the payment of salaries for 8,200 doctors, nurses and other health workers over two months.   

In meetings with President Abbas and Prime Minister Mustafa, he highlighted his commitment to recognising a Palestinian state as an undeniable right of the Palestinian people, and as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

He also called out settlements in the West Bank as illegal and harmful to a two-state solution on visit to a Palestinian community.

Israel to ‘legalise’ five outposts in West Bank

The UK government has released a statement in response to Israel announcing that five outposts are to be ‘legalised’ in the West Bank.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “The UK strongly opposes the announcement that five outposts are to be legalised in the West Bank as well as further punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority.

“Israel must halt its illegal settlement expansion and hold to account those responsible for extremist settler violence.

“We are clear that actions by Israel to weaken the Palestinian Authority must stop. We call for longer-term measures to be put in place to ensure continued correspondent banking relations and assurance that Israel will release frozen funds without delay.

“The UK’s priority is to bring the Gaza conflict to a sustainable end as quickly as possible and ensure a lasting peace in the Middle East, through an irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.”

Official condemnation, then – but all the while the UK continues to supply weapons to Israel.

More than 16,000 Palestinian children have been slaughtered during the current conflict. Tens of thousands of innocent families have seen their lives shattered.

I wonder if Sir Keir Starmer’s incoming Labour government will do anything different to address the plight of the Palestinian people, or will it be more of the same – business as usual for the arms dealers, words not deeds and more hand-wringing from our political leaders as the slaughter continues? – Ed.

UK participates in largest international airdrop into Gaza

BUT CONTINUES TO SUPPLY ARMS TO ISRAEL

The Royal Air Force participated in a large-scale international aid airdrop into Gaza yesterday to coincide with Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.

Collectively delivering hundreds of tonnes of aid, this was the largest airdrop of aid into Gaza on a single day and the culmination of careful planning alongside international partners to ensure the complex mission could be conducted safely and effectively. 

Led by the Jordanian Armed Forces, the international operation saw 9 nations* and 14 aircraft drop essential aid.

An RAF A400M flew this morning from Amman, Jordan to airdrop over 10 tonnes of aid, including ready-to-eat meals, water and rice, along the northern coastline of Gaza. The flight took around an hour with other nations’ aircraft dropping aid throughout the course of the day.

The A400M Atlas and crew are based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire with both RAF and British Army personnel supporting the operation in Jordan. Over the last two weeks they have dropped over 53 tonnes of aid on six flights.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: The prospect of famine in Gaza is real and today’s international airdrop will provide life-saving food supplies for civilians.

“This is the sixth RAF airdrop in recent weeks, delivering over 53 tonnes of aid, including water, flour and baby formula.

“After six months of war in Gaza, the toll on civilians continues to grow. We continue to stand by Israel’s right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists, who have failed the people of Gaza and hide behind civilians. This terrible conflict must end. The hostages must be released and the aid must flood in.”

Yesterday’s international airdrop is part of UK efforts to provide vital humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and follows the announcement of a package of military and civilian support to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza. This includes the deployment of a Royal Navy ship to the Eastern Mediterranean as well as up to £9.7 million for aid deliveries.

The maritime corridor initiative will see tens of thousands of tonnes of aid pre-screened in Cyprus and delivered directly to Gaza, via a new US temporary pier being constructed off the coast or via Ashdod Port, which Israel has now agreed to open.

The UK is also focused on ensuring more aid can enter Gaza by land, and deliveries will be scaled up with the opening of the Erez crossing. In partnership with the World Food Programme, the UK’s largest delivery of aid – more than 2,000 tonnes of food aid – crossed the border on 13 March.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: “Led by our Jordanian partners, we have joined nations around the world to mark the end of Ramadan by getting life-saving aid into Gaza. Thousands of people in desperate need will benefit from this united effort.

“The UK remains ready to play its part in getting supplies in by land, air and sea, but the people of Gaza need more.

“We continue to push Israel as hard as we can to get more aid across the border and delivered throughout the region. Words must turn into action – this is essential to avoid an even more severe humanitarian crisis.”

Sunday marked 6 months since the devastating October 7 terrorist attacks, and almost a week since British aid workers were killed trying to get life-saving food to those in need.

The UK continues to call for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire, as the fastest way to get hostages safely home and more aid in.

Foreign Secretary to bolster support for Ukraine in visit to Washington DC

The Foreign Secretary will travel to Washington DC to urge US partners to unlock additional funding for Ukraine

  • David Cameron visits Washington DC to reaffirm the joint UK-US commitment to support Ukraine, which remains vital for US and European security.   
  • In discussions with Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders, he will call for urgent further support for Ukraine.   
  • He will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior US Government figures, reinforcing our steadfast partnership to defend freedom and democracy around the world as NATO allies.   

The Foreign Secretary will travel to Washington DC today (Tuesday 9th April) to urge US partners to unlock additional funding for Ukraine, giving them the tools they need to win its war with Russia.    

He will hold talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the UK’s continued support for Ukraine against Russian aggression which aims to redraw European borders by force. He will engage with key figures across Congress to call for them to change the narrative on Ukraine this year and provide the extra $60bn (over £47.5bn) in supplementary funding that’s going through Congress.

Over $184bn (over £145bn) has already been committed to Ukraine by European nations including over $15bn (nearly £12bn) from the UK, in addition to the nearly $74bn (nearly £59bn) already committed by the US – which is making a huge difference on the battlefields of Ukraine and the waters of the Black Sea. Ukraine has proven time and time again that with the right tools it can succeed.

The Foreign Secretary will reassert the importance of stepping up economic pressure on Russia now and continuing to give Ukraine the military and humanitarian support it needs to hold the line this year and go on the offensive in 2025.  

David Cameron will highlight how Europe and the US are united in their support for Ukraine, with European countries providing more than half of the total support. He will emphasise that nothing can match the pace and scale of US support which remains “the key stone in the arch” in the fight for freedom, democracy and the right of free countries to choose their own future.  

The Foreign Secretary, David Cameron said: “Success for Ukraine and failure for Putin are vital for American and European security.

“This will show that borders matter, that aggression doesn’t pay and that countries like Ukraine are free to choose their own future.

“The alternative would only encourage Putin in further attempts to re-draw European borders by force, and would be heard clearly in Beijing, Tehran and North Korea.

“US support for Ukraine has massively degraded the military capacity of a common adversary, Russia has lost half of its pre-invasion land combat power, and a quarter of its original Black Sea fleet, while creating jobs at home and strengthening the Western alliance and NATO.”

Two years on from Russia’s illegal invasion, it’s more important than ever that as NATO allies, the UK and US continue to defend its shared values, including by upholding Euro-Atlantic security. The visit will build on the strong ties between the US and the UK and our shared commitment to defending freedom and democracy around the world.    

While Ukraine continues to make gains against Russia, they are increasingly being overmatched by Russian artillery on the battlefield, underlining the importance of agreeing further US support.   

Talks will also focus on the Middle East, including the path to a sustainable ceasefire and the delivery of greater quantities of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Six months on from the 7 October attacks, the UK and US have stood united in their support for Israel who suffered the worst terror attack in its history at the hands of Hamas and have been clear in Israel’s right to self-defence in accordance with international law.  

The Foreign Secretary will continue to push for a full, urgent, and transparent investigation into the terrible events in Gaza last week, which saw three British aid workers lose their lives.

He will underline that the deaths of World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers are completely unacceptable and that major changes need to be made to ensure the safety of aid workers on the ground.  

Alongside the US, the UK and other partners recently announced plans for the opening of a maritime route, which will see aid delivered by sea to a new temporary US military pier in Gaza, through a maritime corridor from Cyprus. Partners including the United Nations, Cyprus, European Commission, the UAE, Qatar, Germany, Greece, Italy and The Netherlands, have joined the UK and the US in the creation of the route.  

The Foreign Secretary also will reinforce UK support for the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti by announcing a £5m contribution to its deployment.

The MSS, working with the Haitian National Police, will help to tackle gang-related violence which is destabilising the country, worsening the humanitarian situation and causing daily pain and suffering to the people of Haiti.

He will emphasise that a Haitian-led political solution is the only way to tackle this insecurity head on and long-term.    

UK to boost aid support for Gaza

UK Government announces new package of military and civilian support to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza

The UK Government is today announcing a package of military and civilian support to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza, including the deployment of a Royal Navy ship to join the life-saving mission in the Eastern Mediterranean.  

The ship, alongside new UK aid and British expertise, will support the establishment of an international humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, supported by many of our partner governments and the UN, and is expected to be operational in early May.

As well as the Royal Navy ship from the Ministry of Defence , the FCDO is also committing up to £9.7 million for aid deliveries; logistical expertise and equipment support to the corridor, such as forklift trucks and storage units; and expertise, to maximise the levels of aid reaching those people who desperately need it. 

Today marks six months since the devastating October 7 terrorist attacks, and almost a week since British aid workers were killed trying to get life-saving food to those in need. The UK continues to call for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire, as the fastest way to get hostages safely home and more aid in.

In the meantime, the UK Government is doing everything possible to get more aid into Gaza by land, air and sea. In recent weeks, the Royal Air Force has conducted five airdrops along the coastline of Gaza, safely delivering over 40 tonnes of food supplies, including water, flour and baby formula. 

Supporting the Jordanian humanitarian land corridor from Amman into Gaza and in partnership with the World Food Programme, the UK’s largest delivery of aid crossed the border on 13 March which saw more than 2,000 tonnes of food aid being distributed on the ground to families in need. Land deliveries will now be scaled up with the opening of the Erez crossing, which the UK wants to see reopened permanently. 

A full UK field hospital run by UK-Med is also now fully operational in Gaza and providing life-saving care. It has already treated more than 3,000 people, almost half of them children. 

Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said: “The situation in Gaza is dire and the prospect of famine is real. We remain committed to getting aid to those who so desperately need it. Along with the US, Cyprus and other partners, we are setting up a new temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to get aid in as quickly and securely as possible.

“Land access remains crucial to deliver aid at the scale now required. The opening of Erez and the Port of Ashdod is hugely welcome and something the UK has long been calling for. Israel has also agreed to increase the number of aid trucks entering Gaza to a minimum of 500 a day. But we need to continue to explore all options, including by sea and air, to ease the desperate plight of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”

Gazans are facing a devastating humanitarian crisis and there needs to be a significant increase in the volume of vital supplies entering the territory by all routes, as well as changes to ensure aid can safely be delivered on the ground.

Following the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers last week, the UK government continues to call for urgent reform of deconfliction mechanisms, alongside assurances that guarantee the safety and security of humanitarian aid workers, who work tirelessly on the ground to ensure vital aid supplies reach those who need it most.

The multinational maritime corridor initiative will see tens of thousands of tonnes of aid pre-screened in Cyprus and delivered directly to Gaza, via the new US temporary pier being constructed off the coast or via Ashdod Port, which Israel has now agreed to open. The Prime Minister raised the importance of opening Ashdod to facilitate humanitarian aid earlier this week. 

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps commented: “A Royal Navy ship is now en-route to the Eastern Mediterranean to support international efforts to get life-saving aid to Gaza. 

“The Armed Forces are playing a central role in delivering aid, with the Royal Air Force recently completing five airdrops of food supplies for the people of Gaza. We are now going further, working with international partners to set up a humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza. A new temporary pier on the coast of Gaza will be critical to supporting these efforts, by hosting cargo ships to deliver aid by sea. 

“I would like to thank all the personnel involved in this effort, working around the clock to help provide critical aid under immensely challenging circumstances.”

British military teams have been embedded with planning teams in the US operational HQ in Tampa as well as in Cyprus for several weeks to jointly develop the safest and most effective maritime route. The UK Hydrographic Office has also shared analysis of the Gazan shore with US planners to help establish the temporary aid pier.

PM statement on six-month anniversary of the October 7th attacks

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on the six-month anniversary of the October 7th Hamas terror attacks against Israel:

Today marks six months since the terrorist outrage of 7th October – the most appalling attack in Israel’s history, the worst loss of Jewish life since the Second World War. 

Six months later, Israeli wounds are still unhealed. Families still mourn and hostages are still held by Hamas. 

And after six months of war in Gaza, the toll on civilians continues to grow – hunger, desperation, loss of life on an awful scale.

We continue to stand by Israel’s right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists and defend their security.

But the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed, and appalled by the killing of brave British heroes who were bringing food to those in need.  

This terrible conflict must end. The hostages must be released. The aid – which we have been straining every sinew to deliver by land, air and sea – must be flooded in.

The children of Gaza need a humanitarian pause immediately, leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire. That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in. and to stop the fighting and loss of life. 

For the good of both Israelis and Palestinians – who all deserve to live in peace, dignity and security – that is what we will keep working to achieve.

RAF airdrops over 10 tonnes of food supplies to civilians in Gaza

The Royal Air Force airdropped over 10 tonnes of food supplies into Gaza for the first time yesterday (Monday 25 March 2024), as part of international efforts to provide life-saving assistance to civilians. 

The aid consists of water, rice, cooking oil, flour, tinned goods and baby formula.

The Defence Secretary authorised the airdrop following an assessed reduction in threat to the military mission and risk to civilians.

An RAF A400M flew from Amman, Jordan to airdrop this aid along the northern coastline of Gaza, as part of the Jordanian-led international aid mission. UK personnel worked closely with the Royal Jordanian Air Force to plan and conduct this mission. 

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The UK has already tripled our aid budget to Gaza, but we want to go further in order to reduce human suffering. Today’s airdrop has provided a further way to deliver humanitarian support and I thank the RAF personnel involved in this essential mission, as well as our Jordanian partners for their leadership.

“The hell that was unleashed by the October 7th Hamas attack has led to wide-scale innocent loss of life. The UK’s goal is to use every route possible to deliver life-saving aid, whether that is by road, air or new routes via the sea. 

“We also continue to call on Israel to provide port access and open more land crossings in order to increase incoming aid deliveries to Gaza.”

The A400M is a highly capable tactical and strategic airlift platform and today’s airdrop was its first ever mission delivering humanitarian aid by parachute. Both RAF and British Army personnel participated in the mission. The drop zones were surveyed before and during the airdrop to ensure aid was delivered directly to civilians. 

This airdrop is part of ongoing UK efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and follows recent land deliveries of 2,000 tonnes of UK food aid to feed more than 275,000 people and thousands of UK-funded blankets, tents and other relief items, as well as the establishment of a full UK-funded field hospital in Gaza run by British charity UK-Med.

The UK remains committed to ensuring aid reaches those who need it most, as Palestinians continue to face a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The UK has previously supported international airdrops, providing around 600 parachutes at the request of Jordan and Bahrain and supplying critical aid for a Jordanian airdrop to Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza.

Between October and November 2023, the RAF also delivered aid and humanitarian supplies to Egypt for distribution by the Egyptian Red Crescent and UNRWA. 

The UK continues to work with allies, including Cyprus, the United States, European Union and United Arab Emirates, to open a direct maritime corridor to Gaza.

UK defence planning teams are deployed in the United States and Cyprus to support this international effort and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is prepositioning aid in Cyprus.

The UK Hydrographic Office has also shared analysis of the Gazan shore with US planners to help establish a temporary aid pier. In January, the UK worked with Cypriot partners to pre-screen 87 tonnes of aid that was delivered by Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Lyme Bay to the Egyptian Red Cross for the people of Gaza.

The UK is also focused on ensuring more aid can enter Gaza by land, working closely with Jordan who have been instrumental in facilitating the UK’s humanitarian response. Last week, more than 2,000 tonnes of food aid was distributed by the World Food Programme on the ground. This adds to the 150 tonnes of UK-funded relief items, including blankets and tents, which arrived earlier this month, distributed by UNICEF.

Alongside the latest deliveries of aid, the UK has announced a further £10 million in aid funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), bringing the total spend to over £100 million this financial year. This funding will support UN agencies on the ground to deliver lifesaving aid and will also provide core relief items, such as tents, for the most vulnerable.

TUC: UK government must stop trade talks with Israel to support peace in the Middle East

On 18 March, the TUC wrote to Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch in response to the news that the UK continues to be in active trade talks with Israel (writes TUC’s Rosa Crawford). 

The government concluded the latest round at the end of February.

The TUC believes trade negotiations must be used to ensure respect for human rights and international law.

We have longstanding policy on Palestinian rights.

Since the UK launched trade talks on an updated trade agreement with Israel in March 2022, the TUC has consistently stated it does not believe the government should engage in these negotiations, given Israel’s persistent violation of international law, UN resolutions and systematic violations of Palestinian labour and human rights.

In light of the Israeli government’s military operations in Gaza in recent months where these violations have intensified, our letter calls for the government to:

  • end trade talks with Israel
  • end arms sales and military collaboration
  • end the UK’s trade in goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories

On 26 January the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found it ‘plausible’ that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and issued binding provisional measures.

The UK government has an obligation as a party to the Genocide Convention to take measures to prevent genocide.  It is therefore incumbent on the government to ensure Israel acts in accordance with the ICJ ruling.

Our letter follows the TUC’s General Council statement unequivocally condemning the shocking attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas, calling for the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages unharmed, and calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

In February the TUC wrote to the Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron calling for an immediate ceasefire accompanied by a political process. It expressed disappointment the UK government had so far failed to support such a ceasefire.

The TUC calls on the government to support genuine efforts towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace that is consistent with international law, and is based on a two-state solution, which promotes equality, democracy and respect for human and labour rights.

Largest UK aid delivery enters Gaza to feed 275,000 people

UK funding to World Food Programme supports major aid delivery in Gaza via Jordanian land corridor

The UK’s largest delivery of aid to Gaza has crossed the border and is being distributed by the United Nations to families in need, the Foreign Secretary has confirmed. 

More than 2,000 tonnes of food aid, funded by the government, is being distributed by the World Food Programme (WFP) on the ground. 

This adds to the 150 tonnes of UK funded relief items including blankets and tents, which arrived last Wednesday 13 March, and will be distributed by UNICEF. A full UK field hospital run by UK-Med has also arrived in Gaza and is now operational and providing life-saving care.

The delivery includes fortified wheat flour for use in bakeries, hot meals and well as Ready To Eat (RTE) food parcels. The food parcels will be used to feed more than 275,000 people in Gaza. Each food parcel is designed for family of five and consists of canned vegetables, meat and fish, and date bars. The parcel can meet half of the daily calorie needs of the family for 15 days.  

This comes in the week that a report from Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip and the south faces a risk of famine if conditions continue to worsen.  

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: “It’s crucial that we keep the flow of aid moving into Gaza to end the suffering, and that’s why this latest delivery of aid by WFP is so vitally important.

“The IPC’s report warns of imminent famine. We need sustained humanitarian access by road to get more aid in. We continue to push Israel to allow more crossings to open and for longer, and for healthcare, water and sanitation to be restored.”

Since the opening of the corridor in December 2023, the Government of Jordan, with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, has worked to ensure the passage of almost 600 trucks of humanitarian assistance into Gaza carrying 8,000 tons of relief and food items. 

Humanitarian assistance from 10 different international aid agencies – including from UK partners WFP and UNICEF – has reached Gaza. 

The latest delivery was again facilitated by Jordan, who have been instrumental in supporting the UK’s humanitarian response.

The UK is committed to ensuring aid reaches those who need it most, as Palestinians continue to face a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary has been clear that Israel must increase capacity to safely distribute aid within Gaza.

This includes opening a land crossing in the north and issuing more visas to UN staff who are capable of delivering aid when it arrives in Gaza.

Students reclaim Edinburgh University building demanding divestment from Israeli war crimes

On 26th February, a coalition of student groups, including the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS), the Staff-Student Solidarity Network (SSSN), Edinburgh University Kehillah, Youth in Resistance, and Vegans for Animal Liberation and Ethical Revolution in Edinburgh (VALERIE) reclaimed the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre.

The protesters have called for a complete and immediate divestment from all companies complicit in Israeli war crimes.

The students’ demands to university management are as follows:

  • Recognition of and explicit condemnation of Israel’s continuing acts of genocide, which includes the destruction of all of Gaza’s universities and the targeted erasure of its entire educational infrastructure.
  • Reduction of police presence on campus surrounding our demonstrations and empty naming of our protests as “threatening”.
  • The removal of the IHRA definition of antisemitism that inhibits any criticism of Israel in its conflation of anti-Zionism to antisemitism. 
  • Severing all research ties with Leonardo and Anyvision, the latter responsible for operating the facial recognition surveillance system of Palestinians in the West Bank, essential for the perpetuation of Israel’s apartheid and illegal settler-colonial violence.
  • Finally, and most importantly, the complete and immediate divestment from those companies previously mentioned, in line with the continuing campaign from the Justice for Palestine Society

The investments amount to £39 million each year, including Blackrock (£30.5 million), Amazon (£3.6 million), Booking.com (£2.6 million) and Albermarle (£2.2 million), the latter involved in the production of white phosphorus to be used in weaponry.

White phosphorus  is illegal under international law and there is photo evidence of it being used on Gaza. Investment in this would break Edinburgh’s own policy of sustainable investment.

Furthermore, the University also maintains research collaborations with Leonardo, a company that produces laser systems used for fighter jets; and, of disturbing significace, with AnyVision, an Israeli startup that built and operates the facial recognition system resposible for the ceaseless surveillance and subjugation of Palestinians in the West Bank, integral in maintaining the Israeli apartheid and illegal settler-colonial violence.

Over the last 5 months, unprecedented Israeli attacks have killed over 38,000 people and injured more than 70,000 people in Gaza (Figures from EUROMED monitor).

A statement from the protesters states: “we have occupied Gordon Aikman lecture theatre to make it clear to the University’s management that we will maintain the pressure until our demands of divestment are met“.

This action follows months of weekly demonstrations held on the Edinburgh University campus, where large crowds of students have gathered to protest the attacks on Gaza and  demand Edinburgh’s divestment from Israeli arms.

A petition from the Justice for Palestine Society has also reached over 1800 signatures calling for divestment across the student body.

The statement continues: “The occupation of Gordon Aikman lecture theatre is not an action we take lightly, however the urgency of the situation in Gaza and the university’s continued silence regarding the genocide and our demands has compelled us to take this escalated action.”

General statement on the reclamation of the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre

We, students at the University of Edinburgh, have for months been protesting our university’s direct complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza, demanding the divestment from companies that have been profiting from Israeli apartheid for years and that are presently complicit in genocide.

Shamefully, our university has struggled to even acknowledge the magnitude of the unfolding genocide whilst repeatedly avoiding or dismissing our demands concerning divestment.

As students representing Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS), the Staff-Student Solidarity Network (SSSN), Edinburgh University Kehillah, Youth in Resistance, and Vegans for Animal Liberation and Ethical Revolution in Edinburgh (VALERIE), we have occupied Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre to make it clear to the University’s management that we will maintain the pressure until our demands of divestment are met, the details of which are below.

We also want to continue to raise awareness around campus among fellow students and staff, emphasising that university activity cannot operate business as usual when our tuition fees are funding genocide. In lieu of the latter we will also be hosting various educational events and teach-ins.

The occupation of Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre is not an action we take lightly, however the urgency of the situation in Gaza and the university’s continued silence regarding the genocide and our demands has compelled us to take this escalated action.

Furthermore, in light of the recent ruling in the International Court of Justice and in compliance with the Genocide Convention, the University has an obligation to divest immediately and completely from all funds with ties to apartheid Israel. As long as divestment does not occur, the University is contravening Article III , para. (e) of the Genocide Convention, which prohibits complicity in genocide.

Currently the University of Edinburgh invests over £39 million each year in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide and its longstanding apartheid; namely, Blackrock (£30.5 million), Amazon (£3.6 million), Booking.com (£2.6 million) and Albermarle (£2.2million), the latter involved in the production of white phosphorus to be used in weaponry which is illegal under international law and is proven to be used on Gaza and breaks the University’s own policy of sustainable investment.

When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine two years ago, this University was quick to withdraw all its stocks in Russian companies and was proud to have done so, we call upon those same people to divest once more from the aforementioned companies.

Furthermore, the University also maintains research collaborations with Leonardo, a company that produces laser systems used for fighter jets; and, of disturbing significance, with AnyVision, an Israeli startup that built and operates the facial recognition system responsible for the ceaseless surveillance and subjugation of Palestinians in the West Bank, integral in maintaining the Israeli apartheid and illegal settler-colonial violence.

We continue to demand:

    Recognition of and explicit condemnation of Israel’s continuing acts of genocide, which includes the destruction of all of Gaza’s universities and the targeted erasure of its entire educational infrastructure.

    Reduction of police presence on campus surrounding our demonstrations and empty naming of our protests as “threatening”.

    The removal of the IHRA definition of antisemitism that inhibits any criticism of Israel in its conflation of anti-Zionism to antisemitism.

    Severing all collaborative research ties with Leonardo and AnyVision, the University’s work with the later directly contributing to the surveillance and categorisation  

    Finally, and most importantly, the complete and immediate divestment from those companies previously mentioned, in line with the continuing campaign from the Justice for Palestine Society.

This is a time of urgency that the University needs to react to.

Reckon with this colonial institution.

The UK is calling for an immediate suspension in fighting to get aid in and hostages out of Gaza

UK statement at the UN Security Council

Explanation of vote by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza:

Thank you President, we want to see the fighting in Gaza end as soon as possible in a way that never again allows Hamas to carry out the appalling terrorist attacks against Israel we saw on the 7th of October last year.  

Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating humanitarian crisis. We are particularly worried about the situation in Rafah, where a military operation could have appalling consequences for civilians sheltering there with nowhere else to go. Ongoing negotiations are critical to secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza.

We are calling for an immediate suspension in fighting to get aid in and hostages out, leading to a permanent, sustainable ceasefire.

That means the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas’s capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer in charge of Gaza; and, a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution. 

President, we welcome the efforts of our Algerian colleagues on this resolution, and we regret that some of our proposals were not taken on board.

Simply calling for a ceasefire as this resolution does, will not make it happen. Indeed, as it could endanger the hostage negotiations, it could actually make a ceasefire less likely. The way to stop the fighting, and potentially stop it from restarting, is to begin with a pause to get hostages out and aid in, that is what we are calling for. It could end the fighting now. 

We will continue to work to stop fighting. A humanitarian response at scale. The release of all hostages. And the delivery of the two sovereign states of Israel and Palestine that ensures peace, security and justice for both nations.