UK PalSocs call for arms embargo on Israel

Twenty-six student-led Palestine Societies in Universities [PalSocs] across the UK released a joint statement condemning the massacre of Palestinian protesters in Gaza on 14 May, and slammed the British government's continued arms sales to Israel.

Speaking to The New Arab, President of City University Palsoc, Abdelrahman al-Tamimi said that more must be done by the UK government to curb Israeli aggression.

"We need to remind everyone of the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people," he said.

"May 15 marked 70 years since the Nakba, the Catastrophe, where people were forced out of their homes and lands for the State of Israel to be founded on their blood and bones."

Tamimi also noted how the 70th anniversary coincided with Israel's mass attack against Palestinian protesters, "who were only calling for their right of return".

The statement calls on the UK government to place an embargo on its arms-trade with Israel which "are in defiance of its own export guidelines" and for university students to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

The movement calls for universities to divest from any corporations who profit from the Israeli military and its occupation.

"City University has deals with HP, a company that profits from the Israeli military, a company that profits from the force that commits crimes against Palestinians and violates international laws," said Tamimi.

"It's important to remember that Israel has violated 28 UN Security Council resolutions."

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Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered by the Gazan border, protesting against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move their embassy to the contested city.

They also called for the right of return to their homes lost during the 1948 war.

Israeli snipers fired live ammunition into the crowds of demonstrators in Gaza, in a day of deadly violence not seen in the strip since the 2014 war.

The shootings left 62 Palestinians killed and 2,400 injured.

The UK universities that have signed the joint statement are:

1. City University Palestinian Society
2. UCL Friends Of Palestine
3. Aberdeen University Palestine Society
4. University of Leeds - Palestine Solidarity Group
5. SOAS university Palestine society
6. Exeter University Friends of Palestine Society
7. Queen Mary Friends of Palestine
8. Brunel University London Friends of Palestine Society
9. KCL Action Palestine
10. Strathclyde Students for Palestine Society
11. Cambridge University Palestine Society
12. University of Bristol Friends of Palestine
13. Goldsmiths Palestine Society
14. BDS Campaign, University of Manchester
15. Sussex Friends of Palestine society
16. Warwick Friends of Palestine Society
17. Aston University Palestine Society
18. Glasgow University Palestine Society
19. Sheffield Hallam Palestine Society
20. University of Sheffield Palestine Society
21. SGUL Palestine Society
22. Westminster Students for Palestine society
23. The Palestine Society University of Nottingham
24. Oxford Students' Palestine Society
25. Keel Friends of Palestine
26. University of York Palestinian Solidarity Society