We’re shutting down the government - here’s why

It’s 8:30 am on a freezing cold Thursday morning in London. Around 350 of us have woken up in the dark to board crowded trains, buses and underground carriages alongside bleary-eyed commuters making their way into the city. None of us, however, are gearing up for an ordinary day at the office. We – a sprawling assemblage of people outraged by the ongoing Palestinian genocide – are taking the day off work to blockade a government department in protest.

The Department for Business and Trade, just off of Trafalgar Square, is thousands of miles from Gaza, where over 44,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces over the past year. But decisions made here in London have directly contributed to these deaths. When Israel’s bombardment began on October 7th, the UK had 350 existing arms licenses to Israel. However, after just over a year of national demonstrations, arms factory pickets, MPs’ calls for sanctions, local encampments, direct action against organisations complicit in genocide, and numerous other forms of protest in the UK, the government has only suspended a meagre 30 of these licences. This is in direct contradiction to the demands of the public – the majority British voters support the suspension of arms to Israel.

Today, the day before International Day of Solidarity with Palestinians, we are making clear that we do not want to be complicit. As we block off entrances to both the Department of Business and Trade and the Foreign Office on the busiest day of the civil service week, we are demanding that the government implement a full arms embargo now. This comes amid High Court legal action in which Labour is accused of continuing to supply Israel with components for F-35 fighter jets, posing a “clear risk” of violation of international humanitarian law. We’re also demanding that the government commit to arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to Britain, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

As we stand outside the departments, we will be having conversations with workers who attempt to enter, sharing information about government complicity, and encouraging them to join our picket. Even more reason for workers to turn away: our action will coincide with a strike by outsourced workers at a number of government departments, who have our full support. The Public and Commercial Services Union, which organised the strike, also supports us: earlier this year, PCS members in the Department for Business and Trade requested to "cease work immediately" on arms export licences to Israel, over fears they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza. A protest was organised in support of PCS members in which 600 people shut down access to the department over complicity in underwriting arms contracts for Israel.

The scale of the violence we are up against can, at times, feel overwhelming. After a year of genocide, many of the people involved in today’s action have turned out in both the biting winter rain and the deep summer heat. Faces are increasingly familiar. The coalition of grassroots groups involved in this action – which include Palestinian Youth Movement, Workers for a Free Palestine, Queers for Palestine, London for a Free Palestine and Sisters Uncut – have employed virtually every strategy. We have picketed arms factories and blockaded government buildings. We have orchestrated sit-ins across major high streets and train stations. We have set up encampments in university after university. We have taken direct action against Israeli weapons manufacturers. We have repeatedly tried to get coverage within a British media landscape whose staff report a clear Israel bias. We have seen the police increasingly crack down on, and intimidate, pro-Palestine activists.

But now is not the time to let up. The movement has seen significant wins despite capital and the state not being on our side. We have shut down state departments, and today, we did it again. Activists like those involved in Palestine Action have used direct action to disrupt supply chains close to the source. Last month, after both direct action by Palestine Action, and boycotts organised by other pro-Palestine groups, Barclays Bank reportedly sold its shares in Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems. In the general election this year, communities also gave a clear message to the Labour Party, when they elected a number of independent MPs on pro-Gaza platforms in Labour strongholds.

Now, we must keep up pressure on our government. As we let off red, black and green flares outside the department today, we are once again making our message loud and clear: Israel cannot continue to act with impunity. Since the Labour government won’t give us an arms embargo, we are showing them that we, the people, will bring one about from below.

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