LAST month, TUC Congress, representing 5.5 million workers in Britain, unanimously endorsed the demand for an end to all arms trade with Israel. 

Backed by impassioned speeches from Congress delegates, the resolution recognised that Israel’s current genocide follows decades of violations of Palestinian human rights and the imposition of a system of apartheid against all Palestinians, whether they live under illegal military occupation, as Palestinian citizens of Israel, or in exile. The same motion also called for sanctions on Israel and a ramping up of boycott and divestment campaigns. 

This important vote comes at an urgent moment, a year into Israel’s genocidal assault on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. At least 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, over two million people have already been displaced — many of them multiple times — and infrastructure including schools, mosques, hospitals and universities have been destroyed. The entire population has been left facing famine.