'What’s happening in the West Bank just as in Gaza are war crimes'
Labour MP John McDonnell has questioned the UK government’s record on sanctioning Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, as violence in the region escalates.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, McDonnell called on the UK government to publish a detailed report into the sanctions imposed by the government on Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
It comes after the UN human rights office has demanded that Israeli security forces immediately stop participating in and enabling attacks by Jewish settlers in the region, stating the, “escalating violence over the past few days is also a matter of grave concern”.
This followed the killing of a 14 year-old Israeli from a settler family, which sparked the biggest settler rampage since the war in Gaza began, with seven Palestinians reported murdered and many others wounded.
Speaking on Wednesday in Parliament McDonnell said: “At a meeting with Israeli colleagues this morning we heard that the Israeli government is arresting legal and peaceful observers in the West Bank.
“Could the government now make it very clear to the Israeli government that observers should be allowed to operate within the West Bank, to ensure that peace is maintained, but also could we have a report in detail on the sanctions that the government is applying to Israeli settlements and Israeli settlers.”
The UK Foreign Office described the settler attacks as “completely unacceptable” and said it was “vital that Israeli authorities restore calm and conduct urgent and transparent investigations into all deaths”.
Outside Parliament that evening, McDonnell spoke at a rally organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) where he blasted the government’s record on sanctioning violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Speaking on Wednesday McDonnell said: “In Parliament today we asked the government what are you doing with regards to sanctions against the settlers illegally expanding their settlements across the West Bank.
“The minister’s response was that the government is exerting sanctions. So we asked how many settlers have been sanctioned in this whole period. The response was two, out of the tens of thousands of Israeli settlers illegally occupying the West Bank, only two have been identified for sanctions and we don’t even know what the level of sanctions were.
“What’s happening in the West Bank just as in Gaza are war crimes. The murder of Palestinians on the West Bank is the equivalent to the war crimes taking place in Gaza. We need to be saying to Netanyahu and his cabinet that we hold them responsible, yes for the murders of Palestinians in Gaza but also in the West Bank.
“I want to live long enough to see Netanyahu and the Israeli cabinet in The Hague prosecuted for war crimes.”
In February the UK Government announced new sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers, with the Foreign Secretary stating a commitment to “hold to account those who undermine prospects for peace”. Financial and travel restrictions would be imposed against Israeli settlers who have violently attacked Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the government stated.
At the time the government announced sanctions against four extremist Israeli settlers who would be subject to a UK asset freeze, travel and visa ban.
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues
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