What do we want our government to do?
UK Friends of Standing Together’s main focus is on amplifying and providing practical support for the work of Standing Together in Israel. We believe co-resistance, meaning shared struggle towards an equal future, between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel is an irreplaceable element in any democratic transformation in the region.
We also acknowledge the role of diplomatic pressure, and believe international governments, including our own, must do more to advance the causes of peace and equality. UK Friends of Standing Together therefore calls on UK politicians to:
- Call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and hostage-release agreement; call for the release of Palestinians held without charge in “administrative detention”; and for due process for all Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
- Demand the UK government restores and increases funding to UNWRA.
- Demand the UK government withdraws the licenses under which UK-based firms sell arms to Israel, and ends trade with Israeli arms manufacturers, while the Israeli state is being investigated for suspected war crimes.
- Demand the UK government takes stronger action against Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank, including ongoing settlement expansion. This should include: barring UK charities from funding projects in the Occupied Territories; banning the import of goods produced in settlements; withdrawing the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill (the so-called “anti-boycott bill”).
- Support the recognition of the State of Palestine, as part of efforts to restart a genuine peace process aimed at ensuring an agreement which guarantees both peoples, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs, self-determination and equal rights.
- Commit to respecting the independence of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court and to upholding and enforcing their judgments.
- Use their platform to support and amplify the work of Standing Together and other anti-war, anti-occupation, pro-peace movements in Israel working towards a future based on freedom, self-determination and equal rights for both peoples.
The above statement is issued in the name of UK Friends of Standing Together, and represents demands we are placing on our own government and elected political representatives as UK-based activists.