Stop the War coalition Newsletter 16/08/24

Posted: 20th August 2024

Newsletter – 16/08/24

Peace Talks Flounder as Death Toll Reaches 40,000

It is no surprise that expectations for the Gaza peace talks in Doha are low. Following the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Hamas has refused to take part, and as the talks take place between the US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators and Israel, the Israeli government continues its slaughter of innocent Palestinians unabated.

Netanyahu is clearly in no mood to countenance peace and is willing to risk a wider Middle East war in the process. In preparation for all-out war the US has deployed a guided missile submarine to the Middle East equipped with 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, along with an aircraft carrier, to defend its client state against a possible Iranian retaliatory response.

And all the while Israel continues its genocide, issuing more evacuation orders, shrinking the tiny humanitarian zone within the Gaza Strip even further. On Friday residents in the ‘safe’ zone in Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah were told to leave. Of course, there is nowhere left to go.

This week the Palestinian death toll reached an appalling milestone: 40,000 Palestinians have been killed during these last 10 months, and another 10,000 are missing, believed to be buried under the rubble. As UNRWA’s Commissioner General said, this is “a very grim milestone at the world’s watch [and] a direct result of a collective failure to reach a ceasefire.”

It is not just in Gaza where Israel is out of control. Settler-led violence in the West Bank on Thursday resulted in the death of a young Palestinian and life-threatening injuries for others. And although the US and UK have condemned this violence, have called the perpetrators criminals, there is no force behind their words. As Tim Bierley said in a recent article on UK trade deals, our Labour government appears to be rewarding Israel for its war crimes with lucrative deals.

As long as Israel is given a free pass its government and its supporters will act with impunity and the ethnic cleansing and genocide conducted in Gaza will be mirrored in the West Bank.

It is imperative that we continue to callout what is happening to the Palestinians, that we are clear that although Israel’s allies mouth words of condemnation and restraint their actions speak otherwise. This is why it’s so important we get as many as possible on the streets for the next National Demonstration on 7th September and why we urge as many of you as possible to join the WCgDUA62Gtso0J-RLX3bbST9BT0OalZ9lZSZFy0nCKz2LJQ_shRv7ym9npLq8zqBGRKUhe5yaHGsfwrB5gQLMA0O8c51EgNYd0UtSMkJjJEO1sOFZRwII2OduSC8BdgQDeM3UByMAwtWHOJVHftIHYnKD2POZKvCTvUt6lEB23hL8uHW8q0lTeWNWRz_am38-XeAVm45v0kj0wy4KIqgw4d0A3f71OClCkNkMJYWoaxa-sz6uc5EgqQ6dgb_1BvKz0l-cJtQ/48y/DXzq3ZNLTBmdqw5jJJhkzg/h5/h001.29hzlPzvsBNHOZoWiFwQXF76a9NEJfvv2RnoJR0C15M”>

British Challenger tanks are now being used by Ukrainian forces on Russian soil. This NATO-Russian proxy war becoming a direct conflict between nuclear-armed states. Our government continues to support a war which cannot be won without direct NATO intervention and at a huge cost to humanity.

Stop the War warned back in 2023, when the then government first sent the Challenger 2 tanks, that sending ever more weaponry to Ukraine would lead to escalation. Already this war has seen the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives from both sides. Our government should be pushing for a negotiated settlement, instead they are one the largest donors of arms.

As Lindsey German, StW Convenor, said,

“with a Labour government committed to providing Ukraine with £3 billion a year, anti-war campaigners must continue to demand a change in Britain’s foreign policy, the money spent on arms would be much better spent on helping people here.”

TUC Fringe: Why War, Peace & Palestine are Trade Union Issues

Stop the War TUC Fringe Meeting
Why War, Peace & Palestine are Trade Union Issues

Mon 9th Sept – 6.30pm

Friends House, Ship St, Brighton, BN1 1AF

At Stop the War the trade union movement has always been at the heart of what we do. We continue to work with trade unions in recognition that war and peace are class issues and because it is through the power of organised working people that we have the capacity to change society. This year we have seen acts of solidarity in workplace days of action for Palestine and union banners aplenty on the national Palestine marches.

British-made bombs and components have rained down on Gaza before our eyes, the Ukraine military is being equipped with British-made arms, and UK tanks are now being sent inside Russian territory. Ordinary working people are paying with their lives as the needless slaughter continues.

Labour has pledged to raise military spending in line with the Tory plans. There’s always more money for bombs, while the rest of us face austerity. Every pound spent on militarisation is a pound less for tackling the cost of living and housing crises, rebuilding our crumbling schools and hospitals and reducing NHS waiting lists. Working people need welfare not warfare.

To address these issues and more StW is holding a fringe meeting at the TUC in Brighton. We will be joined by Fran Heathcote, PCS General Secretary, Alex Gordon, RMT President, Riccardo LaTorre, FBU National Officer and others. Please come along and find out more about why war, peace and Palestine are trade union issues.

RSVP Here

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