On International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 1,000 protesters blockaded the Foreign Office and Department of Business and Trade in central London today to demand an embargo on arms to Israel and that the UK Government commit to arresting Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to Britain.

Those taking part in the disruptive direct action, which is part of a National Day of Action for a ceasefire in Gaza called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) declared support for workers refusing to be complicit in arms exports and workers on strike today. 

A coalition of pro-Palestinian activists and trade unionists, including the Palestinian Youth Movement, Workers for a Free Palestine, Sisters Uncut, Queers for Palestine, and London for a Free Palestine, blockaded two Government departments which license arms exports Israel. The coalition is demanding Labour stop arming Israel, after court documents reveal the Government did not fully suspend export licences to Israel to avoid “undermining US confidence in the UK”. 

Applications by companies for export licences are made to the Export Control Joint Unit, which sits within the Department for Business and Trade (DBT); and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) carries out evaluations against the licensing criteria.  Protesters blockaded the DBT with an ‘Arms Embargo Now’ rally and shut down access to the FCDO, letting off red, green and black smoke flares, with banners saying ‘Genocide Made in Britain’ and ‘Lammy: Stop Arming Israel’, while declaring support for workers who refuse to be complicit and workers on strike today. 

This direct action comes amid legal action in the High Court over UK arms supplies to Israel. The Government is accused of continuing to supply Israel with components for F-35 fighter jets despite knowing there was a “clear risk” these could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law, with court documents revealing its decision was impacted by a desire to reassure the US Government. 

This week human rights groups are also applying for an emergency High Court injunction in light of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. Protesters are calling on the Government to commit to arresting Netanyahu and Gallant if they ever set foot in the UK, in line with Britain’s legal obligations as a member of the ICC. While the Government has said it would comply with such legal obligations under domestic and international law, Downing Street has been “reluctant to commit” to saying Netanyahu would be arrested if he comes to the UK, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper refused to answer the question on LBC. Keir Starmer refused to answer the same question or comment on the arrest warrant, despite having made a personal statement welcoming the ICC’s decision to open a war crimes case against Vladimir Putin. 

Britain made £8.5 billion from arms sales in 2023 and has licensed £560 million worth of arms sales to Israel since 2008, with Freedom of Information requests revealing last week that the UK approved an additional £51.6m in arms sales to Israel via the US. In September, Keir Starmer’s government suspended 30 of the UK’s 350 arms export licences to Israel, with the remaining 90% remaining intact, despite the implicit acknowledgement that Israel is using British-made weapons in gross violations of international law. The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has climbed to at least 44,200 and 85% of the population has been displaced, while Israel’s expanded attacks on Lebanon are being treated with similar impunity.

A spokesperson for Workers for a Free Palestine said: “We’re simultaneously blockading access to complicit Government departments, while the Government is in court attempting to defend the indefensible and facing an emergency injunction application to suspend the British weapons being used to wage Israel’s extermination campaign.

“We are taking this action as workers and trade unionists, responding to the call from the Trades Union Congress and Palestinian trade unions on workers to take action today in solidarity with Palestinians. This is a people’s arms embargo enforced from below – we refuse to allow our taxes to be used to arm this genocide and we will continue to shut down key Government buildings and arms factories until Labour suspends all arms sales to Israel. 

“Polling shows we represent the vast majority of people in Britain, who do not want arms supplied to Israel in our name and subsidised by our taxes. And we know many civil servants in these same Departments do not want to carry out work which contributes to Israel’s genocide. No worker should be forced by their employer to facilitate unlawful acts, least of all be made complicit in horrific war crimes. We support these workers and stand in solidarity with them.” 

A spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement said: “Court documents even reveal that this spineless Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have continued to arm a murderous Israeli regime in a pathetic attempt to pander to the US Government. We say to Keir Starmer and David Lammy, the blood of the children killed in Gaza is on your hands – your arms have contributed to Israel killing more children in just four months than all children killed in four years of war globally. 

“The British public support an arms embargo on Israel and an end to the genocide, yet this Government is not only ignoring the will of the people but even criminalising protest against Britain’s complicity, with pro-Palestine activists facing an unprecedented crackdown according to human rights groups. Instead of representing the British public, the Labour Government is representing the vested interests of arms companies and other complicit corporations, which profit from death and destruction in Palestine and a Middle East ravaged by imperialism. We will not stop our work until this Government stops selling arms to Israel and its unconditional support for Israel’s colonial occupation and the violent political ideology of Zionism.”

A spokesperson for Sisters Uncut said: “It’s shameful that this Labour Government pays lip service this week to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, while arming Israeli forces violating women in Gaza on multiple fronts. Israel is disproportionately killing women and children, who make up nearly 70%, of Palestinians murdered in this genocide. There is also overwhelming evidence of sexual and gendered violence perpetrated by the Israeli army, with UN experts calling for a full investigation of sexual assault and rape of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention. 

“Keir Starmer, David Lammy and Yvette Cooper call themselves feminists, yet refuse to confirm that the war criminals who have overseen the use of sexual violence as ordinary practice in Israel’s military would be arrested if they ever set foot on British soil.”

The direct action follows a blockade of the Department of Business and Trade on May Day this year, when hundreds of protesters and trade unionists shut down access to the department over complicity in underwriting arms contracts for Israel. A message was sent by the Department to all employees informing them that all entrances to the Department, and therefore the entire building, were closed due to the protest. 

The protest was organised in support of PCS members in the Department who requested to “cease work immediately” on arms export licences to Israel over fears they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza, leading PCS to announce that it is considering bringing legal action to prevent their members from being forced to carry out unlawful acts. Today’s protest also coincides with strike action at the Department by Public and Commercial Services Union members working in security and facility management roles.

See the video here.

End the genocide! Demonstrate Saturday 30^th November, 12 noon, Park Lane.