Petition calling for suspension of UK arms sales to Israel handed to Downing Street

Director of PSC Ben Jamal along with MPs and activists outside 10 Downing Street. (PSC)
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Updated 17 April 2024
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Petition calling for suspension of UK arms sales to Israel handed to Downing Street

  • Document by UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign signed by almost 70,000 people
  • Protest against arms sales to Israel will take place outside Parliament on Wednesday

LONDON: A petition calling for the UK government to halt arms sales to Israel was handed in to 10 Downing Street on Tuesday by a pro-Palestinian activist organization and a cross-party group of lawmakers.

Launched on April 2 and signed by almost 70,000 people, the document, which is addressed to UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, also urges the government to publish any legal advice it has received regarding possible breaches of international law.

“On 2nd April 2024, Israel killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including UK citizens, in targeted air strikes in the Gaza Strip,” the petition, drawn up by the UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said.

“This attack, on an agency distributing food to a population facing famine, is part of the broader Israeli war crime — as acknowledged by the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell — of intentionally using starvation as a weapon of war.

“It also comes following Israel’s two week siege on Al-Shifa hospital, killing over 400 Palestinians and leaving the hospital complex in ruins.”

The UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, under which all arms exports are assessed, specifies that the government will not grant a license if it determines “there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression … or a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” according to a January 2023 report on developments in UK strategic export controls.

“The ICJ (International Court of Justice) ruling of plausible genocide therefore requires the UK to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel,” the petition said.

 

 

“It is also understood the government has received — though not published — legal advice that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law which would also require a suspension of arms exports.”

The ICJ issued a landmark ruling in January finding it plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide, offering the first concrete step toward possible sanctions.

“UN experts have called on all states to immediately suspend arms exports to Israel, as required by the 1949 Geneva Conventions and to comply with the Genocide Convention,” the petition said.

“The UK is putting itself at legal risk by ignoring this advice, and is also isolating itself from key international partners including Canada, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy, who have all suspended their arms exports to Israel.”

Conservative Party MP Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, on Friday said the UK Foreign Office “has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law, but the government has not announced it.”

On Monday in parliament, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused to deny the Foreign Office had received such advice and when asked by Labour Party MP Zarah Sultana whether Kearns was telling the truth said: “Israel is committed to and capable of complying with international humanitarian law.”

Ben Jamal, director of the PSC, said: “Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians and its attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Iran prove that arming it not only makes the UK complicit in violating international law but also in the sparking of a regional war with catastrophic consequences.

“Continuing to arm Israel cannot help the cause of peace or justice in the Middle East. Any government truly committed to upholding international law does not sell weapons to a state that continually breaches it.”

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 33,000 Palestinians had been killed since Israel launched its assault on Gaza on Oct. 7, 70 percent of them women and children. Most of the civil infrastructure in the besieged enclave has been destroyed and the UN has issued warnings that famine is imminent for its population of 2 million people.

Israel uses British weaponry, surveillance technology and military equipment on Palestinians, and 15 percent of the components used by its F-35 aircraft to bomb Gaza are provided by the UK, according to the pro-Palestinian nongovernmental organization Friends of Al-Aqsa.

“Israeli bomber aircraft are being used in the ongoing genocide taking place in Gaza,” the UK-based group said.

According to a statement by the PSC, more than 1,000 lawyers, academics and retired judges, including the former President of the Supreme Court Baroness Brenda Hale, have signed an open letter stating that the “continued supply of arms to Israel puts the UK in breach of international law.”

On March 27, Sultana and a cross-party group of 134 UK lawmakers wrote to Cameron and Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch asking them to immediately suspend export licenses for arms transfers to Israel as “the case for this is overwhelming.”

Earlier this month, Cameron said the UK would not suspend arms sales to Israel, despite Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain and Belgium announcing they would do so.

The PSC said it would lead a “Stop Arming Israel” rally outside parliament at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

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WHO keeps mpox at highest alert level

Updated 4 sec ago
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WHO keeps mpox at highest alert level

“The decision was based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases, operational challenges in the field,” WHO said
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the country hardest hit by the outbreak, followed by Burundi and Nigeria

GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Friday it had decided to keep its alert for the mpox epidemic at the highest level, as the number of cases and countries affected rises.
“The decision was based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases, operational challenges in the field, and the need to mount and sustain a cohesive response across countries and partners,” it said in a statement.
“The WHO Director-General, agreeing with the advice of the (International Health Regulations) IHR Emergency Committee, has determined that the upsurge of mpox continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern,” it said, extending the emergency first declared on August 14.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the country hardest hit by the outbreak, followed by Burundi and Nigeria.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.
The August emergency declaration was in response to a surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the DRC that spread to nearby countries.
That and other mpox strains have been reported across 80 countries — 19 of them in Africa — so far this year, WHO has previously said.

London’s Gatwick Airport reopens terminal following security alert

Updated 22 November 2024
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London’s Gatwick Airport reopens terminal following security alert

  • Police sent a bomb disposal team to deal with a suspected prohibited item that they said had been found in luggage at the airport’s south terminal, 30 miles south of London
  • “The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” Gatwick said

LONDON: London’s Gatwick Airport, the second busiest airport in Britain, reopened a terminal on Friday after a security alert earlier in the day forced its evacuation and caused travel disruption for thousands of people.
Police sent a bomb disposal team to deal with a suspected prohibited item that they said had been found in luggage at the airport’s south terminal, 30 miles south of London.
“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” Gatwick said in a statement. “The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”
The incident disrupted weekend travel plans for thousands of passengers, with more than 600 flights due to land or take off on Friday from Gatwick, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Thousands of passengers were seen outside the terminal and the surrounding area in videos posted online after the terminal shut for several hours. Emergency foil blankets were distributed to some of the passengers who were waiting in the cold, social media pictures showed.
In a separate incident earlier on Friday, London police carried out a controlled explosion near the US embassy in south London after discovering a suspect package. Police later said they believed it was a hoax.


New Bangladeshi tourism initiative empowers marginalized Indigenous groups

A tourist interacts with members of the Santal community in Rajshahi district, Bangladesh, Nov. 3, 2024. (BRAC)
Updated 22 November 2024
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New Bangladeshi tourism initiative empowers marginalized Indigenous groups

  • BRAC’s Othiti program helps uplift rural communities and their traditional skills
  • Pilot program is underway in Rajshahi district near the Bangladesh–India border

DHAKA: A new initiative by Bangladesh’s largest development organization is fostering community-based tourism in remote rural areas to empower Indigenous groups and help preserve their cultures.

There are more than 50 Indigenous groups in Bangladesh, most of whom, or about 1 million people, live in the flatland districts of the country’s north and southeast, and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, bordering India and Myanmar.

Launched in early November, the new tourism initiative spearheaded by BRAC is named Othiti, which means “guest” in Bengali.

The pilot program is underway in Rajshahi district on the northern bank of the Padma River, near the Bangladesh–India border.

“We started the journey of Othiti from Rajshahi. Tourists rarely visit this part of the country, but it is very rich, both culturally and historically. Starting from the mighty river Padma, there’s a lot of natural beauty over there,” Asif Saleh, BRAC executive director, told Arab News.

“We will not be confined within Rajshahi. There are plans to expand this tourism project in other parts of the country … in places like Sundarbans, Chottogram Hill Tracts, Cox’s Bazar. We will try to connect tourists particularly with the Indigenous communities of these areas to experience their traditions, culture, and customs. If tourists can experience the diversity of these areas, they can connect with them in a different way. It will make people prouder of the rich history and culture of our country.”

The project involves rural youth, students of the Rajshahi University, whom BRAC has employed as part-time guides to introduce visitors to their customs and traditional livelihoods.

“We have built a relationship of trust and reliability with these communities. We hope that tourists will become interested in the culture and customs of the Indigenous people, and have a better understanding and empathy towards them,” Saleh said.

“Our Othiti aims for the sector’s development as well as employment for the (local) people, which will benefit these communities … We began this project as a social enterprise. We may incur loss initially for many years, but ultimately, if the sector develops, it will attract many people.”

Indigenous communities in Bangladesh have been struggling with access to education, healthcare, and jobs. Many live in forest areas with inadequate infrastructure. Poverty and unemployment levels among these groups are much higher than among the non-Indigenous.

Moutushi Biswas, a BRAC consultant, said a number of initiatives under the Othiti program are meant to uplift the communities and their traditional skills.

For example, introducing tourists to the Premtoli village of potters helped increase demand for their earthenware and work.

“While visiting the pottery community, tourists are experiencing the craftsmanship of potters who have been engaged in this for many generations. They can experience it by themselves, making clay pots under the guidance of a traditional potter. It’s a very unique experience,” she said.

“This initiative is also strengthening the abilities of local communities … The locals who work with us are very enthusiastic about this. We are receiving huge cooperation from them.”

For Happy Soren, a 25-year-old student and Othiti guide, having tourists visit was not only strengthening the village’s economy but also helping raise awareness about her community.

“The tourists want to know our customs and religious beliefs. They want to know the reasons behind the special patterns and paintings on our houses … Our village becomes very festive when they visit us,” she said.

“We believe the tourists who experience our culture and heritage will play a role in developing our village after they go back to their own places and work. They will stand by our people.”


Top court intervenes in New Delhi pollution crisis as respiratory cases spike

People walk through a thick layer of smog as air pollution shoots up in New Delhi on Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
Updated 22 November 2024
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Top court intervenes in New Delhi pollution crisis as respiratory cases spike

  • Number of patients with respiratory diseases has increased two to threefold
  • Court orders Delhi authorities to set up checkpoints, prevent entry of commercial vehicles

India’s top court intervened on Friday to request policing measures in New Delhi to contain severe air pollution that over the past week has led to a surge in hospital admissions for respiratory diseases.

Residents of the Indian capital again woke to a thick layer of toxic smog, with an overall Air Quality Index reading of 373, or “very poor,” according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

While conditions have slightly improved since Monday, when a medical emergency was declared with pollution reaching the “severe plus” AQI score of 484, the prolonged crisis prompted the Supreme Court to order the central and local governments to introduce new measures to contain it.

The court said during Friday’s hearing that it was “not satisfied” with the Delhi administration and police efforts to address the pollution and ordered the authorities to “ensure that check posts are immediately set up at all 113 entry points (to the capital)” to stop trucks and commercial vehicles from entering the city.

The move follows the court’s order earlier this week to suspend all construction work in the whole of New Delhi and the National Capital Region.

“It is a constitutional obligation of the central government and the states to ensure that citizens live in a pollution-free atmosphere,” the court said.

As toxic smog has persisted for over a week, Delhi authorities have shut all schools and moved classes online, while half of the government employees have been allowed to work from home.

The continuing crisis is already reflected in a surge of hospitalizations for respiratory disease.

“The cases related to lungs and respiratory problems have significantly risen,” Dr. Nikhil Modi, pulmonologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told Arab News, adding that the patients coming to the hospital with respiratory issues are “two to three times the normal” amount.

“Especially for those who already have underlying lung disease, the problem can be significant, and if they develop a secondary pneumonia or an infection, then they require emergency admission,” Modi said.

Toxic smog arrives in New Delhi every winter as temperatures drop, trapping toxic pollutants from tens of millions of cars, as well as construction sites, factory emissions, and waste burning. It is aggravated by farmland fires in the country’s northwest and southeast, where farmers clear stubble to prepare fields to plant wheat.


The US Embassy in London returns to normal after police carry out controlled explosion of package

Updated 22 November 2024
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The US Embassy in London returns to normal after police carry out controlled explosion of package

  • London’s Metropolitan Police Service closed a road on the west side of the embassy
  • “Local authorities investigated and cleared a suspicious package outside the Embassy,” the embassy said

LONDON: The US Embassy in London returned to normal operations Friday afternoon after police carried out the controlled explosion of a suspicious package that was found in the area earlier in the day.
London’s Metropolitan Police Service closed a road on the west side of the embassy out of an “abundance of caution” as they investigated the incident, the embassy said in a statement. The embassy said it had returned to “normal business operations” by early afternoon, although all public appointments were canceled for the day.


“Local authorities investigated and cleared a suspicious package outside the Embassy,” the embassy said. ”Thanks to @metpoliceuk for your swift action, and thanks to all visitors for your cooperation and patience at this time.”
Also Friday, authorities evacuated the south terminal of London’s Gatwick Airport while they investigated a suspicious item found in luggage. Sussex Police said they had sent an ordnance disposal team to the airport as a precaution.