\n The signatories said their next march will take place on Saturday, 10 October, at noon in central London, coinciding with three years since the ongoing genocide in Gaza. [Getty]<\/p>\n
With the first anniversary of Britain’s official recognition of the <\/a>State of Palestine approaching, six British pro-Palestinian organisations have stepped up pressure on the government, calling for an end to the arms trade with Israel<\/a>, the suspension of military and intelligence support, and comprehensive sanctions against it.<\/p>\n The demands come alongside calls for British action<\/a> that goes beyond political recognition to practical measures.<\/p>\n In a comment to The New Arab on Wednesday, 19 August, Chris Nineham, vice-president of the Stop the War Coalition, said Britain’s recognition of Palestine “was welcome, but, as we feared, it was symbolic”, adding, “The people of Palestine need action, and we are calling on our government to end British support for Israel immediately.<\/p>\n “We are working to organise another mass demonstration on 10 October to pressure it to take action.”<\/p>\n Nineham’s comments come as the organisations prepare to organise a new national march in central London next October, in an attempt to pressure the British government to take tougher steps towards Israel.<\/p>\n In a joint statement on Wednesday, the organisations said that “Palestinians in <\/a>the Gaza Strip continue to face killing, hunger and displacement, while British-funded humanitarian aid remains subject to Israeli restrictions”.<\/p>\n They called on the British government to work to halt Israeli attacks and ensure aid reaches the Strip without restrictions.<\/p>\n The demand to lift restrictions on aid coincides with a position Britain announced at the UN Security Council on 11 August, when it called on the Israeli authorities to end what it described as “unacceptable restrictions” on aid and allow safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza.<\/p>\n ‘Britain must act’<\/p>\n The statement is titled, “Three years of genocide… Britain must act”.<\/p>\n The signatories said their next march will take place on Saturday, 10 October, at noon in central London, coinciding with three years since the ongoing genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n The official website of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign confirms the date and location of the march.<\/p>\n The statement was signed by the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of Al-Aqsa, and the Muslim Association of Britain.<\/p>\n The United Kingdom officially recognised the State of Palestine on 21 September 2025.<\/p>\n At the time, the government said that the decision aimed to revive hope for peace and a two-state solution.<\/p>\n But the organisations that signed the statement believe the recognition was not followed <\/a>by British action at the required level.<\/p>\n They say “real action” requires ending arms trade with Israel and suspending military and intelligence support that they consider to contribute to facilitating violations of international law.<\/p>\n They also called for British companies, banks, universities and charities to be prevented from supporting activities linked to the occupation or settlements, starting with a ban on trade connected to Israel’s illegal occupation and extending to comprehensive sanctions against Israel.<\/p>\n Britain suspended 29 export licences to Israel in September 2024 after concluding that there was a clear risk that the equipment covered by them could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.<\/p>\n The latest government data shows that six additional licences were subsequently suspended or amended as new information emerged.<\/p>\n The organisations expanded their demands to include the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, warning of continued settlement expansion, settler violence and restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque.<\/p>\n The British government, for its part, says Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.<\/p>\n It recently condemned the rise in settler violence and expressed concern about developments at the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n In June, London, in coordination with international partners, imposed sanctions on six entities and one individual, saying they were involved in financing, enabling or carrying out acts of settler violence in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n Britain also strengthened its guidance for British companies and citizens in June, explicitly advising them against engaging in economic or financial activities in Israeli settlements, which it considers illegal, while reaffirming its continued support for trade with Israel within its pre-1967 borders.<\/p>\n In their statement, the organisations said Britain’s commitment <\/a>to international law “cannot be held hostage to the Israeli electoral timetable”, arguing that the time had come to move from political recognition of the Palestinian state to practical measures.<\/p>\n The organisers are calling for widespread participation in the 10 October march, in an attempt to put pressure back on the streets of Britain.<\/p>\n They also want to place the issues of arms, sanctions, trade and military support at the forefront of the debate over what has actually changed in British policy since the recognition of Palestine.<\/a><\/p>\n