AS BRITAIN remains complicit in Israel’s war crimes by refusing an arms embargo, a replica of a 2,000-pound bomb was placed outside of Parliament today, serving as a stark reminder of the innocent lives that will be claimed while the government breaks up for summer.
The 16-foot replica was placed by Oxfam after it released a new analysis estimating that around 7,000 people in Gaza will be killed or injured over the next 33 days.
A carpet of flowers around the bomb symbolised those who are likely to be killed by the Israeli military, as well as the Israeli hostages still in captivity.
Based on UN cumulative impact reports, Oxfam estimated that if Israel's military offensive continues at its current intensity during the parliamentary recess, it could result in over 1,800 deaths — a third of them children — and more than 5,000 injuries.
The analysis comes as Britain refuses to commit to an arms embargo, despite warnings that exports are likely being used to commit war crimes.
This includes components for F-35 Israeli fighter jets, which carry out devastating strikes.
According to Action on Armed Violence, air-strikes were responsible for more than 45 per cent of recent fatalities.
Oxfam GB chief executive Halima Begum said: “By selling F-35 components to Israel, the UK government is effectively facilitating many of the Israeli air strikes and the decimation of Gaza.
“The government is fully aware of the risk that arms exported from the UK are likely being used to commit war crimes in Gaza.
“It is critical that the UK government immediately suspend both existing and new licences for all arms sales, whether direct to Israel or via third parties.”
Britain is legally obliged to halt arms exports if there is a clear risk they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has so far failed to publish legal advice the Foreign Office received on selling arms to Israel, despite urging the previous Tory government to do so while in opposition.
Rumours surfaced that Labour was going to call for a partial embargo, but the Times suggested today that the announcement was delayed while the government reviews which weapons may have been used in suspected war crimes.
Commenting on the reports that the decision is being delayed to find a “middle-ground,” Stop the War Coalition co-convener Lindsey German said: “It's quite clearly being done to protect the arms industry and Britain’s relationship with the US, and while Lammy looks for a way around a total ban, thousands more Palestinians will be slaughtered.”
Amnesty International UK’s Crisis Response Manager Kristyan Benedict said that Britain has “flouted its own export rules” and called on ministers to “stop prevaricating and immediately halt all UK arms transfers to Israel.”
Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Al Haq have applied for a judicial review of the government’s decision to grant the export licences in a case filed under the previous administration. The hearing is expected to take place in October.
Export licenses also include targeting equipment, small arms ammunition and materials for the production of military aero-engines.
Around 200 activists today shut down a UAV Engines factory in Shenstone which makes engines for the Hermes 450 drone, which is equipped to carry missiles.
Sophie, an activist from South Staffordshire Palestine Solidarity who joined the protest said: “We will not stand by waiting for those in power to recognise Palestinians as human and deserving of protection under the Geneva Convention.
“We will persist in taking a stand against British businesses that arm the genocidal state of Israel.”
Kate Hudson, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament which has been holding national demonstrations calling for an embargo, said that by the time MPs return to Parliament thousands of Gazans will have had their lives “prematurely ended or permanently changed.
“Will this play on the minds of MPs while they are on holiday? Will it play on the minds of those who have consistently blocked efforts to end British complicity in Israeli war crimes?
“Labour must impose a full arms embargo on Israel immediately. Half measures are not enough.”
The death toll in Gaza could be as high as 186,000 according to a report in the Lancet journal, including those buried under rubble and killed indirectly through the destruction of infrastructure.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal said: “The government has a clear legal obligation not to render aid or assistance to Israel’s violations of international law — including its genocide in Gaza, its unlawful military occupation of Palestinian land, and its regime of apartheid against all Palestinians.
“We demand the government immediately end the deadly arms trade with Israel. How many thousands more Palestinians must be slaughtered before the government acts?”
