UK must halt ‘totally indefensible’ weapons sales to Israel: Ex-Green Party leader

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Selling weapons to Israel is an “indefensible” decision and the UK government must immediately rescind its deals, according to Natalie Bennett, former leader of the British Green Party.

“In the current circumstances, the case ... is irrefutable that we should not be shipping arms to Israel, that the Israeli government can then use to … kill innocent civilians in Gaza,” Bennett said in an interview with Anadolu.

“Weapons to Israel have never been defensible, but are totally indefensible now.”

Israel, accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, has now killed nearly 32,000 Palestinians in its deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last October, which claimed some 1,200 lives.

Over 74,000 more Palestinians have been injured, while 85% of Gaza’s population is displaced, facing starvation and imminent famine amid a crippling Israeli blockade of food, water, medicine and other essentials of life.

Over 2 million people in Gaza are under the “most awful conditions,” Bennett said, adding that the Green Party has been calling for an immediate and permanent cease-fire from the very beginning.

“When the death toll is just horrendous, mostly women and children, that’s (cease-fire) what has to happen,” the Australian-British politician added.

She said the UK government’s position on a cease-fire has changed over the past few months, but they are “still not making that simple call for an immediate cease-fire, permanent cease-fire.”

“Whatever happens, if we get a cease-fire tomorrow in Gaza, it’s still going to be the most awful humanitarian situation,” said Bennett.

She said the government should be facilitating family visas that would allow people in Britain to get their relatives out of Gaza.

“We have the model of the Ukrainian visas, we have the Hong Kong visas, we have Afghan visas … We should actually be helping people in Britain who want to get at least their family out and bring them here to safety. We should be facilitating that,” she said.

- ‘What limited democracy we have is under very significant attack’

Bennett, a peer in the House of Lords, expressed concern over recent government measures that she believes are infringing on “civil liberties” in the UK, including laws seen as part of efforts to crack down on protests in the country.

“I think civil liberties are massively under attack in the UK at the moment,” she said.

“We are seeing a government that really does not acknowledge the right of people to express disagreement with them, and that’s deeply dangerous and concerning.”

The UK tries to position itself globally as a “champion of human rights and rule of law,” but that should mean “doing the same thing at home,” she said.

“Britain’s normative power is draining away fast on the international stage because people can see what’s happening here and can see that the right to protest, the right to express your view, (and) what limited democracy we have is under very significant attack,” Bennett emphasized.

She also criticized the Conservative government’s move to double the amount that parties are allowed to spend on elections, saying big donors are now able to funnel millions of pounds to the ruling party, just like in the US.

“Many countries (in continental Europe) have very, very tight limits on how much people can donate, how much can be spent in elections. We don’t have that and that’s deeply dangerous,” she added.