ON MONDAY, the High Court in London rejected a legal challenge brought by the Palestinian human rights organisation Al Haq against the decision of the Labour government to carry on supplying jet parts to Israeli warplanes.
These are key components for the F-35 jet bomber used by the Zionist regime to carry out its genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza, that has resulted in over 56,500 people being killed.
In their 72-page ruling, the High Court judges decided that Labour’s decision to carry on exporting F-35 parts to Israel is lawful, despite accepting that these parts ‘could’ be used in breach of humanitarian law.
No ‘could’ about it, these jets have pounded Gaza and killed thousands of Palestinians, mainly women and children, with arms supplied by the Labour government.
In their ruling, the High Court judges were clearly determined to pass the buck for arming genocide and complicity in war crimes firmly back onto Starmer’s government, insisting: ‘Under our constitution, that acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive, which is democratically accountable to Parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts.’
In fact, now that the court has shrugged off any responsibility, it will be the working class and youth who will have the final say over arming Zionist genocide and complicity in the attempt by the Israeli government to drive Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied territories through terror and starvation.
No longer can Starmer’s government hide behind legality and the courts to carry on supplying weapons used to kill Palestinians.
While the High Court was washing its hands over arming genocide in Gaza, Labour’s right-wing Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is pressing ahead determined to proscribe the non-violent protest group Palestine Action under the anti-terror laws.
The ban proposed by Cooper would place Palestine Action in the same league as ISIS, al-Qaeda and other terror groups and make it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison!
Their ‘crime’ was to demonstrate against companies in the UK supplying arms to Israel culminating in climbing over a wooden fence at an RAF base to spray red paint over two aircraft.
Meanwhile, this week an absolute tsunami of rage has erupted across both Labour and Tory parties, and the bourgeois press and media over the 30,000-strong audience at Glastonbury on Saturday cheering along with the Belfast rap group Kneecap with chants of ‘Free, Free Palestine!’ amongst a sea of Palestinian flags.
Preceding Kneecap on stage, was punk rapper duo Bob Vylan who drew the support of the huge audience with their chants of Free Palestine and ‘Death, Death to the IDF!’ – the Israeli Occupation Force.
With politicians across the parties joining to condemn Kneecap and Bob Vylan, and Starmer calling it ‘hate speech’, Somerset police have launched a criminal investigation into the performances.
The High Court may have washed its hands over arming genocide but Starmer’s government is turning to the police and courts try to criminalise any opposition to Israeli war crimes and the complicity of the Labour government in the slaughter of Palestinians.
This is an act of desperation on the part of a Labour government that is splitting apart over its attack on the disabled and is facing a mass uprising by workers and youth who hate genocide and the cast-iron support given to the Zionist terrorist regime by Starmer and his ministers.
There has never been a better time, or a more necessary time, to bring down this Labour government.
Now is the time for workers and youth to force the leadership of the TUC to end its support for this treacherous Labour government and immediately call a general strike to bring down Starmer’s government, and bring in a workers’ government and socialism.
A workers government will end all arms to Israel, immediately recognise the independent state of Palestine and provide the Palestinians with all the weapons and support required for the victory of the Palestinian revolution!
