Rebellion looks fun. Tower Bridge was shut yesterday by protestors associated with different groups including Youth Demand, Prayers for Gaza, Pal Pulse, Thanet for Palestine and Ealing Friends of Palestine. They demand that the UK Government stops arming Israel by imposing an arms embargo.
A spokesperson for Ealing Friends of Palestine said
“We took action in response to the horrifying images of civilians being burned alive, starved, and kept under siege — particularly in northern Gaza. We aim to cause as much disruption as possible to hit those in power where it hurts — financially. It is time for the UK government to stop arming this colonial regime.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspeding 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide.Zionist Keir Starmer is quoted “I support Zionism without qualification.” He’s asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.
… [C]ounterterrorism forces raided Winstanley’s home in London, seizing electronic devices used in his work. Although Winstanley was not arrested, the equipment was confiscated by the police. …
Asa Winstanley. Photo: R Witts Photography: Electronic Intifada
British authorities targeted journalist Asa Winstanley in a counterterrorism raid, marking the latest crackdown on journalists opposing Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its ongoing genocide in Gaza
Journalist with the Electronic Intifada Asa Winstanley is one of the latest targets of British authorities cracking down on activists and journalists opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. On Thursday, October 17, counterterrorism forces raided Winstanley’s home in London, seizing electronic devices used in his work. Although Winstanley was not arrested, the equipment was confiscated by the police.
The operation was based on the heavily criticized 2006 Terrorism Act, whose broad provisions can be easily misused to stifle discussion on controversial topics, the editors of The Electronic Intifada said in a statement. Media workers’ trade unions have already warned that applying the law to journalists will have a chilling effect on press freedom and free speech.
Winstanley was told he was being investigated for “encouragement of terrorism,” a charge human rights associations have previously criticized for being too vague and opening the door to the suppression of free speech. The police informed Winstanley that the raid was triggered by material he shared on social media.
Editors of the renowned pro-Palestine outlet described the action against Winstanley as the “latest use by British authorities of repressive ‘counterterrorism’ legislation to crack down on journalists and activists involved in reporting on or protesting Israel’s crimes.” Previously, journalists like Richard Medhurst and Palestine solidarity activists Mick Napier, Tony Greenstein, and Sarah Wilkinson, among others, were targeted by the authorities over speeches made at rallies and opinions expressed on social media.
Several activists from Palestine Action involved in direct action against companies complicit in Israel’s crimes, including Elbit Systems, have also been detained by British police on alleged terrorism charges over recent months. Like in Winstanley’s case, “counterterrorism powers are being used to raid, arrest, and imprison pro-Palestine activists and journalists,” according to Palestine Action.
Winstanley has been a vocal critic of Britain’s complicity in the occupation of Palestine, with his investigations covering the Labour Party’s links with the Israel lobby. As a result, he has faced legal threats from the party, which is currently in power in the UK and has promoted the criminalization of solidarity with Palestine since winning the election.
“The raid on Winstanley’s home is clearly intended to intimidate and silence him, as well as other journalists and activists,” concluded The Electronic Intifada.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspeding 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide.Vote For Genocide Vote Labour.Zionist Keir Starmer is quoted “I support Zionism without qualification.” He’s asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party’s support for and complicity in Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
WITH each passing week, the conduct of the Israeli state bursts further bounds of legality, decency and simple humanity.
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The barbaric character of the conduct of the Israeli armed forces is only reinforced by footage taken by IDF personnel themselves, showing them boasting of their murders, looting and ransacking Palestinian properties and glorying in the destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, mosques and cultural centres.
The war of Israeli aggression only spreads wider, engulfing Lebanon, the steadfast people of Yemen, Syria, Iran and, of course, the West Bank, where a campaign of ethnic cleansing proceeds unimpeded.
It even threatens UN peacekeeping forces since the Israeli government’s contempt of the UN and international legality grows ever more brazen.
The Starmer government is up to its neck in this genocidal rampage. Britain is bombing Yemen, running spy flights over Gaza to the benefit of the Israeli army and permitting the use of RAF bases in Cyprus.
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The obligation of the movement in Britain is not to impose “solutions” regardless of the wishes of the people resisting genocide, it is to fight against the policies of our own government first of all.
That means ending all military, munitions, diplomatic and political support for Israel and imposing a stringent regime of sanctions on a state rapidly shedding its legitimacy.
More broadly, the events of the last year show that there can be neither peace nor justice in the Middle East while it remains largely under imperialist hegemony. Our obligation is to unite with all those challenging that hegemony and resist any controversies that would disrupt that unity.
Zionist Keir Starmer is quoted “I support Zionism without qualification.” He’s asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.Vote For Genocide Vote Labour.UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspeding 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide.
Image of the Green Party’s Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.
Commenting on Labour’s first 100 days in office, Green Party Co-Leader Carla Denyer MP said:
“The collapse in Starmer’s popularity since taking office has been remarkable. It was clear to me during the election campaign that voters across the country wanted change. After 14 years of Tory failure, they expected Labour to deliver it. The public’s sense of disappointment is palpable.
“Instead, we have a government aligned with Tory austerity. The two-child benefit cap and the scrapping of the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners are both examples of how this government’s default has been to make the most vulnerable in our society pay. The ‘black hole in our finances’ should, and could, be solved by asking the wealthiest to pay just a fraction more. Instead, Labour seems content with letting the poorest bear the brunt.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. We are one of the richest countries in the world, yet deeply unequal. The Chancellor has hinted that she is willing to borrow more to invest in much-needed infrastructure, which is welcome. But we also need to address the source of everyday revenue spending.
“The last fourteen years have seen the rich get richer, with the top fifth now owning a third of the country’s wealth. It’s only fair that those with the broadest shoulders should now pay a bit more to help our NHS, rebalance society, and improve living standards for everyone. A wealth tax, alongside other changes to the tax system, could deliver this.
“We as a country, and particularly the Labour government, face a political choice. Will they tax more fairly to properly invest in our crumbling frontline services, or will they continue to oversee managed decline and austerity economics? The Greens will, every day, keep pushing for them to properly invest in Britain.”
Keir Starmer commits to play the caretaker role for Capitalism through the “hard times”.
