THE general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has called on the UK to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu as soon as he sets foot on British soil.
It comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant earlier this month.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson has already said the Labour Government would live up to its legal obligations and arrest Netanyahu if he steps foot in the UK.
Speaking at the STUC’s annual St Andrew’s Day march, the STUC’s general secretary Roz Foyer said: “Just as we do here in Scotland, the STUC will continue to call out racism, and the actions of apartheid regimes internationally.
“Right now there can be no greater perpetrator of apartheid than the state of Israel. It’s now been over 400 days since October 7 and while the world is united in condemning the actions of Hamas on that day against Israel’s civilians, nothing can justify the genocide against the Palestinians that we have seen perpetrated since by Israel.
“So we say once again to the UK Government, do not stand on the wrong side of history the same way you did with South Africa’s apartheid regime in the 1980s.
“End the sale of arms to Israel, impose the same tough economic sanctions that you have imposed on Russia, and if the war criminal Netanyahu sets one foot on British territory, have him arrested and sent to the Hague.”
Following the announcement from the ICC, Netanyahu (below) labelled the court’s decision “antisemitic”.
The UK Government is facing calls to end arms sales to Israel having previously suspended around 30 licences out of a total of approximately 350.
Foyer added: “Do we want a Scotland where fear and division prevail, or do we want a Scotland where collaboration, compassion and hope define us?
“I believe in the latter and I’m willing to fight for it. And I know that when the working class unite and come together, we are more powerful than we can dare to imagine.
“So let’s harness our people’s anger, let’s make solidarity our superpower. Let’s build a strong social movement, that will demand the wealth, the public services, the housing and the standards of living that all our people deserve.
“Let’s reject racism, reject fascism and together let us make Scotland a safer and fairer place to live for all its citizens.”
