By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Dozens of Israeli leftists on Friday called on the British government to halt arms sales to Israel, which has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip for over 10 months.
Dozens of left-wing Israelis held a protest demonstration outside the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, demanding that the UK government cease supplying weapons to Israel, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
The protesters held signs reading “Stop Arming Genocide” and “Stop the War,” along with placards displaying “40,000,” referring to the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in extensive bombardment of Gaza since Oct. 7 of last year.
Demonstrators also carried pictures of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in Gaza during these attacks, with one sign reading, "No More Blood on British Hands."
Another placard read, “No More Arms, Lamy,” a reference to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
The protest was organized by the Israeli leftist group Jerusalem Free, which opposes the war.
The group posted a video on X showing Israeli police forcibly dispersing protesters and tearing down signs.
In recent months, the same Israeli leftist group has organized several protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, calling for an end to the war and the cessation of arms supplies to Israel.
In late July, The Times reported that the UK had delayed its decision to ban arms sales to Tel Aviv for several weeks, following orders for officials to review evidence of “possible war crimes” committed by Israel in Gaza.
British Foreign Secretary Lammy is under pressure from Labour MPs to announce a “total ban” on arms exports to Israel, but ministers prefer to “suspend specific export licenses” linked to suspected crimes in Gaza.
The UK's arms sales to Israel amounted to £18.2 million (around $23 million) in 2023.
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Since then, an ongoing Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip has killed over 40,000 Palestinians.
Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio