A NUMBER of Labour MPs have signed a motion calling on the UK Government to halt arms sales to Israel.
Richard Burgon, who was suspended from Labour after voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap, has penned the motion and also called for Labour to axe the 2030 Roadmap, a strategy published by the last government which sought to deepen economic and military ties between Britain and Israel.
His motion, lodged in the House of Commons a week ago, has the support of numerous Labour MPs, as well as his fellow Labour exiles Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, and Zarah Sultana.
It is supported by 20 Labour MPs in total. The only Scottish Labour MP who has signed it is Brian Leishman, who has also publicly called on Keir Starmer to end arms sales to Israel.
While the UK Government has imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel in response to the bombardment of Gaza, which has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians to date, it has exempted parts for bomber planes, which campaigners say renders the ban ineffectual.
Burgon’s motion calls for the UK Government to end “all military exports to Israel” and to support the International Court of Justice’s ruling that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is illegal.
The motion, which has also been signed by SNP MPs, three of the pro-Palestine independent MPs, Jeremy Corbyn, and other smaller parties, also calls for a Government boycott of goods imported from illegal Israeli settlements.
