Dear Stephen,
Thank you for finding the time to reply to me on this vitally important matter.
You are right to state that ‘the competent court is the ICJ’ and that it is unlikely to finally deliberate until May 2029. In the meantime Israel continues to encroach on Gaza – it first occupied by military force 50% then 60% of the territory, and now it is in the process of taking 70%. The remaining 30% will be left for the traumatised civilian population to live in. They will have to do so either in tents or the ruins of their homes. We can watch what Israel is doing now and judge for ourselves. We don’t have to wait until 2029 to do that.
The Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu evoked the Amalekites, a loathed biblical enemy, in relation to the Palestinians. Shortly after this, crowds of jubilant IDF soldiers were recorded chanting ‘Amalek’. There was no constraint, no justifying context. This was a coded call for genocide by the leader of the country and a response by the people who carried out his instruction.
We can see how the Israeli state behaved when the Global Sumud flotila sought to challenge the unlawful blockade of Gaza. On 14 May, over 50 boats carrying 428 peaceful unarmed activists left Marmaris, Turkey. The Israeli military intercepted the flotilla, abducting all. Many of the activists claimed they were tortured and sexually assaulted. There is a video of Itamar Ben Gvir parading with an Israeli flag berating the peace activists as they are bent over on the ground tied by zip cord. One woman shouted ‘Free Palestine!’ and was roughly treated for it.
You mention the supension of arms licences in September 2024. Your government’s selective suspensions did not include parts for the F-35, the main warplane that bombed Gaza into the dust. I find it a little disingenuous of you to boast of stopping arm sales when you are obviously facilitating the supply of the main weapon that has killed 75,000 people, one third of whom are children.
It is no wonder Palestine Action took the stance that it did. To demonise as ‘terrorist’ those who seek to actively prevent a genocide sums up your government’s approach to Gaza.
Alan Burgess, geologist and political activist
Image entitled ‘Global Sumud Flotilla salpant des Barcelona el 31 d’agost de 2025’ by Aniol reproduced under a Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication licence.
