By Mohammad M. Farahani
TEHRAN - At the annual conference of the British Labor Party, members of the party acknowledged that the Israeli regime had implemented the apartheid state against the Palestinians and called for an end to the British arms trade with Israel.
The leader of the Labor Party faced a fateful day at his party conference on Monday as delegates to the party's annual conference in Brighton came up with a bold plan for Palestine and a shadow cabinet member resigned in angry condemnation of Starmer's leadership.
The Labor Party voted overwhelmingly at a conference calling on the party to support sanctions against Israel for its illegal actions under international law, stop the arms trade, and trade with illegal settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The vote mainly was a disgrace to Starmer, who has downplayed the Palestinian issue since he succeeded Jeremy Corbyn.
Keir Starmer's wife comes from a Jewish family and has relatives in Tel Aviv, reported the Times of Israel last year. "I support Zionism without qualification," insisted Starmer.
Starmer has downplayed the Palestinian issue since he succeeded Jeremy Corbyn. Shadow Secretary of Employment Rights Andy MacDonald wrote to Starmer in his resignation letter, "After 18 months of your leadership, our movement is more divided than ever, and the pledges you made to the membership are not being honored."
According to the Independent, the Labor Party representatives opposed the party's leadership by supporting the sanctions against the Israeli regime due to the implementation of the apartheid state against the Palestinians.
"Conference condemns the ongoing Nakba in Palestine, Israel's militarized violence attacking the Al Aqsa Mosque, the forced displacements from Sheikh Jarrah, and the deadly assault on Gaza," said the motion.
The motion calls for "effective measures" against settlement building, reversing any annexation, and ending the West Bank's occupation and the blockade of Gaza.
Accordingly, sanctions must be imposed to ensure that the Israeli regime breaks down the Barrier Wall [in the West Bank] and respects the right of the Palestinian people to return to their homes as enshrined in international law.
In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched an investigation into Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories. In a letter to the "Conservative Friends of Israel," -an influential pro-Zionist organization, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson strongly opposed the investigation, calling it an attack on Israel.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the motion, saying it sends a strong message to the Israeli regime that the world no longer accepts the continuation of its occupation. Measures must eventually follow to corner, isolate and impose sanctions on the occupation state.
Abbas said that the motion is a message of hope and support for the Palestinian people, affirming that, however long the occupation may last, it is coming to an end.
The Palestinian embassy in London welcomed the British Labor Party's vote on the motion.
In a statement, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot called the resolution historic, "This is a historic motion and one that underlines the Labor Party's commitment to international law and human rights."
"The vote comes despite a vicious years-long campaign by Israel's supporters in the UK to stifle debate on Palestine, and defame and eject supporters of Palestinian rights from the Labor Party." Bypassing the motion, Labour Party members have shown they will not be intimidated into silence," he added.
He said that the decision to recognize the Israeli regime as a system of colonialism and racial discrimination and to support the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupiers and colonialists is the beginning of moving in the right direction.
"The truth has triumphed, and the party members voted with an overwhelming majority to consider Israel an apartheid state and to call for economic and military sanctions," he wrote on Facebook.
"This is a victory for our martyrs, prisoners, and wounded; the struggle of our great people and a victory for international values and morals. Thanks to the Friends of Palestine, the British Solidarity Campaign, and the party members. Our path to freedom is long, but reaching the finish line is inevitable," he added.
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