statement by consensus of Action Apartheid

statement written by John Urquhart

The state widely referred to as “Israel” has never been secretive about its desire to annex the Gaza Strip. And now the cabinet of that “state” has unanimously agreed the annexation of and forced relocation of the people of the Gaza Strip. There can be absolutely no denial: this was the plan all along. We forcefully condemn this overt, public declaration of genocidal intent as we did the quieter drumbeat of genocidal demands issuing forth from the ruling class of “Israel” for many months, and we call on the people of Britain and the world to fulfill our moral obligation to oppose it with all the energy we can muster.

This morning it was also “revealed” that the British Government has been secretly sending military materials to the Israelis in support of the ongoing genocide. This has been apparent of course for a long time – with so many flights from Cyprus with heavy lifting aircraft to “Israel” it really couldn’t have been much more apparent – but we applaud the journalistic effort which has dragged the fact kicking and screaming further into the light.

We also think that those in Government who have supported genocide must face justice – in both this, the current Labour Government, and the prior Conservative Government, there are those who have significant culpability due to their overt decisions to support the genocidal regime of “Israel”. This has had real and horrifying consequences for the people of Palestine – who have been subject to not only bombardment and ground offensives and hunting by armed drones, but also a complete blockade of all humanitarian materials since March 2nd.

This is on top of the already ongoing blockade which had massively restricted all materials into the Strip since 2023. Food and water supplies are running out in Gaza today; a recurring phrase chosen by Palestinians in Gaza to express their starvation to the world and plead for financial aid on social media has been “I swear I do not have a piece of bread that is not mouldy”. Another is “I swear I did not want to eat the mouldy bread.”

It is not without reason that they use this phrasing. All of the bakeries in the Strip have been closed for weeks, and what flour remains now costs in the region of $350 a bag – and it is often now mixed with sand, which must be sifted before bread can be baked.

These are the conditions which the Siege of Gaza, enacted by the government of the “state” of “Israel”, has enacted.

Action Apartheid member and Harmony Party UK Treasurer Helena Hyatt said, "Whilst the country ramps up for 80th anniversary of VE day - widely touted as a victory over fascism and genocide - it is unfathomable that Israel's land grab and genocide against the Palestinian people is being ignored. Harmony stands for all oppressed peoples all over the world and holds this country directly responsible not just for failing to oppose this genocide, but for its active complicity in supplying arms and intelligence to the genocidal 'state' of 'Israel'."

We will conclude by saying that “Israel” is not a “state”: it is a genocide project. It is unconscionable that that project has such broad European and American support: we condemn all elements of it, but most deeply and loudly this latest push towards accelerated ethnic cleansing. We call on the people of Britain – and the world – to (continue to) rise up with actions direct and indirect to assert clearly once and for all that we will not let this stand and we demand justice.