By Muhammad Mussa
LONDON (AA) – An opposition member of parliament on Wednesday accused the British government for being complicit in the murder of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces in its most recent attack on the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip.
Zara Sultana of the Labour Party during prime minister’s question time queried Boris Johnson on whether British-made weapons were used by Israeli forces during its assault on the occupied territory and whether the government would acknowledge its denial in the role it has played in the deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians.
“Tala, 13, Rula just 5 years old, her big sister Yara aged 9; three Palestinian children killed in an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military murdered 63 other children and 245 Palestinians in its recent assault on Gaza. The call for Palestinian freedom has never been louder but this Conservative government is complicit in its denial,” Sultana said in her segment of the session.
“It [the government] has approved more than £400 million in arms to Israel since 2015. So can the prime minister look me in the eye and tell me that British-made weapons or components weren’t used in the war crimes that killed these three children and hundreds of other Palestinians,” Sultana asked, holding up an image of the three Palestinian children she mentioned earlier.
In response to her question, the prime minister spoke of his relief at the implementation of a cease-fire between Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza and reiterated his government’s policy and support on the two-state solution between Tel Aviv and Palestine.
“Mr Speaker, I think that whole House understands that nobody wants to see any more of the appalling conflict that we have seen in Israel and Gaza and we are all glad that there is now a cease-fire and de-escalation. As for the position of the British government, I think that it is common ground for most members of this House that what we want to see is a two-state solution, Mr Speaker, that is what the UK government has campaigned for many and that continues to be our position,” Johnson said.
The prime minister dodged Sultana’s question on whether UK arms were used in the 11-day-long assault on Gaza and his response attracted further criticism from the MP.
“Today I asked the prime minister if he could look me in the eye and tell me that British-made weapons weren't used in the war crimes that killed these three Palestinian children and hundreds more. He couldn’t. Utterly shameful,” Sultana said on Twitter.
Last week, an Egyptian brokered cease-fire between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel came into effect.
At least 284 Palestinians have been killed, including 66 children and 39 women, and 1,900 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as capital of a future Palestinian state.
