Cambridge now first UK council to call for end of Israeli arms sales
3 Min Read
The local authority for the Labour-majority city of Cambridge passes a motion urging the UK to pressure "Israel" for a ceasefire, in addition to revoking licenses for arms exports to "Israel".
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Pro-Palestinian protesters hold banners and placards ahead of a march in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, in London, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP)
Cambridge City Council has become the first UK council to publicly call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza alongside an end to the arms sales to "Israel".
The local authority for the Labour-majority city of Cambridge unanimously passed a motion urging the UK government to pressure "Israel" for a ceasefire in Gaza, in addition to revoking licenses for arms exports to "Israel" while halting arms sales to it.
Furthermore, it vowed to launch a probe into the matter of stopping banking with UK-based Barclays Bank, which is argued to have documented investments in companies involved in providing the occupation with weapons and military technology.
Barclays Bank holds over $1.2 billion in shares in firms arming "Israel".
Almost £57 million ($71.9 million) worth of weapons have been exported to "Israel" from 2022 to June 2023, as per data from the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).
In a statement, Labour councilor Alice Gilderdale expressed that the City Council waited “too long” to bring forward a motion on the war, noting that they cannot “continue to watch the horrors in Gaza without speaking out.”
Read next: 600 UK officials say arming 'Israel' breaches international law
'Not so wise'?
A coalition of anti-war activists in Cambridge, known as “Cambridge Stop The War”, stated, “this victory has only been possible because of the constant campaigning by Palestine activists in Cambridge.”
“We must stay vigilant and make sure they follow through with their pledge to divest from Barclays,” it added.
This comes less than 2 weeks after Shadow Secretary David Lammy of the Labour Party called on the UK government to pause arms sales to "Israel", particularly weapons used in an Israeli invasion of Rafah - for the first time since the war on Gaza began.
On the other hand, David Cameron, the current foreign secretary, said that such a decision is "not a wise path."
"Labour has been opposed to an Israeli offensive in Rafah for months and has been clear it must not go ahead," Lammy explained.
The UK government has also kept legal advice it received on arms sales to the Israeli regime secret, as reports indicate that government lawyers have indeed pointed to several breaches of international law by the Israeli occupation. If the government were to admit that "Israel" has breached international law in its war on Gaza, it would be forced to halt arms sales to the non-compliant regime.
