Thousands gather outside Westminster to demand arms embargo on Israel

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Thousands of protesters came out to Westminster to form a 'red line' around the Houses of Parliament, calling for the UK to stop selling arms to Israel and enforce sanctions on the country.

Transcript

00:00We have released an opinion poll this morning that shows that by a margin of 4 to 1,

00:06people support the demands that we're bringing for a full arms embargo and for sanctions against Israel.

00:11Well, it's crucial. Now, people sometimes make the argument that the UK is not the main arms supplier of Israel.

00:17That is true. But it is still supplying arms to Israel.

00:22And it would have a huge political and symbolic significance if the UK government, with its historical position,

00:30were to say we are no longer going to treat you as a liberal democratic ally.

00:35We are going to treat you as a state that's committing egregious rights violations,

00:40that is commissioning or undertaking a genocide, and we are not going to harm this.

00:45So it would deliver a significant message.

00:47David Lammy is now saying that what Israel is doing is monstrous, intolerable, unacceptable.

00:53But our question is, if something is monstrous and intolerable, then you don't tolerate it.

00:58You cannot say what Israel is doing is unacceptable whilst you continue to provide it with weapons.

01:04You can't say you're going to suspend trade negotiations,

01:08then a week later send your trade envoy to Tel Aviv to openly talk about increasing further trade.

01:14So we want actions, not words. The words themselves are not enough.

01:20He should be fully calling. Instead of saying Israel is at risk of violating international law,

01:24it's abundantly clear to anyone with ears and eyes and to every reputable international human rights lawyer.

01:31Remember, Keir Starmer was once an international human rights lawyer,

01:34that Israel is violating international law and probably, in our view, definitely committing the crime of genocide.

01:40So we're calling for action.

01:41Wednesday's protest here in Westminster followed another similar demonstration on Monday,

01:52when a banner was hung from Westminster Bridge, again calling for an end to arms sales to Israel.

01:59I've called a train up here, an hour and a half, an hour and a three-quarter journey.

02:08Went and bought a red dress from the charity shop because everybody's wearing red to signify the red line.

02:15And this country has crossed the red line again and again.

02:18We need to stop. We need to stop the genocide. We need to stop harming Israel.

02:22We need to stop supplying bombs to them.

02:26And we need to look at our conscience and look at ourselves to see what we are doing.

02:30So we're here to support the MPs who are really pushing the government.

02:35To also push Keir Starmer, who is the prime minister, to stop acting as a supporter of Israel

02:41and to end arms sales and trade with Israel, but also to sanction Israel for what it's doing,

02:49starting with throwing the Israeli ambassador out, who doesn't even believe in the rights of the Palestinians.

02:55As we speak, Palestinians are losing their lives.

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