Today, 6th February Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited London to meet with Theresa May. The “Palestine Solidarity Campaign” has called for a demonstration to take place outside Downing St this morning between 11:30-13:30 , under the banner ‘Justice Now: Stand up for Palestine’.

  Why they protested?

   Netanyahu’s visit comes at the start of year which marks significant anniversaries in the history of the dispossession of the Palestinian people and denial of their basic rights, including;

• 100 years since the Balfour declaration where Britain promised the land of Palestine to another people

• 70 years since the UN partition Plan and the beginning of the Nakba which saw 750,000 Palestinians driven into exile and nearly 500 Palestinian villages and towns wiped from the map

• 50 years since Israel’s illegal occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem

• 10 years since the imposition of the siege of Gaza

   “These anniversaries highlight Britain’s complicit role in Palestinian dispossession. It also highlights our continuing responsibility to act in accordance with international law, in order to support the rights of Palestinian people to justice and equality and to help secure a lasting peace.” as The Palestine Solidarity Campaign wrote on his website.

    “As we stand outside Downing Street on Monday, we will be calling on Theresa May to make Netanyahu aware that Britain was serious when it supported UN resolution 2334. The resolution confirmed the illegality of Israel’s occupation and condemned settlement building as illegal and an obstacle to peace.” as the campaign conveyed.

   Given that Netanyahu has made clear he will ignore the resolution, Theresa May must make clear that the UK will follow up its words with action. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but the UK government should do the following if it wants to remain true to its word:

• Announce a review of all of the UKs financial relationships with settlements and exclude all settlement goods from UK markets.

• End any talk of a UK trade deal with Israel unless Israel complies with international law.

• Suspend military relations with Israel – UK arms exports to Israel violate the international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

    “Theresa May told us on the eve of her meeting with Donald Trump that she would not be afraid to tell the heads of other governments when they were doing things that were unacceptable. Her failure to respond to Donald Trump’s announcement of a ban on Syrian refugees and Muslims from seven different countries travelling to the US saw her fail the test she had set herself.” As the campaign said.