11th October 2006

Greens are supporting calls for the Government to boycott all arms deals with Israel after news that weapons made in Britain were used illegally to target civilians in Gaza and Lebanon (i).

In 2005 the UK government licensed the sale of £22.5m worth of arms toIsrael, more than twice the amount in 2004. UK arms companies supply bombs, rockets, missiles and mines to Israel, as well as key parts for Israel’s Apache combat helicopters and F-16 fighter jets. These have been deployed against civilian populations in southern Lebanon and Gaza, as well as to maintain the illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

We must stop arming Israel, just as we do not arm those forces dedicated to
Israel's destruction. I hope the government will adopt an immediate embargo, and that they willencourage others to join them including the EU who give preferential accessto EU markets for Israeli exporters.

With its illegal nuclear arsenal, its illegal invasion and annexation of Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territory, and with its ‘apartheid wall’, condemned last year by the International Court of Justice, Israel isbehaving like a rogue state.

Our government is fuelling the terror endured daily by millions across the region. We just shouldn’t be in the business of selling Israel more arms to turn on terrified civilians.

Cllr Martin Whiteside, Lypiatt, Stroud.

Stroud District Green Party Parliamentary Spokesperson