������Ƶ

LONDON: Members of one of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains have voted to end all trading with Israel at its annual general meeting.

The motion was put to members of the Co-op Group in light of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, and its blockade of the Palestinian enclave preventing vital humanitarian aid reaching civilians.

In the motion, members called on the Co-op’s management to “show moral courage and leadership” by taking “all Israeli products off the shelves.”

Paul Neill, an activist who helped put the motion to a vote, said: “We are delighted to say that the motion was passed by a clear majority of Co-op members, reflecting widespread condemnation among the British public for the actions of Israel.

“This is a historic moment for a UK supermarket chain and puts down a marker for other supermarkets and retailers.”

In a press release, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign — which has been running a “Don’t Buy Apartheid” campaign for shops and restaurants to avoid Israeli goods and those of companies linked to the country — cited Israel’s “genocide in Gaza and decades of oppression of Palestinian people by military occupation and apartheid” as key drivers of the vote to sever ties, and called on the Co-op to implement the motion and cease selling Israeli products in its stores.

Lewis Backon, campaigns officer for the PSC, said: “Meaningful solidarity actions could not be more urgent as Palestinians continue to face Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, and its military attacks, land grabs and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.

“The Co-op AGM vote shows ordinary people in this country are committed to the cause of justice and freedom for Palestine in their everyday lives and refuse to support Israel’s apartheid economy.

“The Co-op must now listen to its members, and implement the motion by taking all Israeli goods off the shelves.”

The PSC said many Israeli goods “such as avocados, peppers, herbs and dates” are common in UK supermarkets.

“Millions in Britain have taken to the streets to oppose Israel’s genocide and the UK government’s complicity in it through military, diplomatic and financial support,” it added.

Israeli agricultural companies — including Hadiklaim, Mehadrin and Edom — “operate farms and packing houses in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank,” the PSC said.

It added that the Co-op had previously pledged to stop stocking goods from illegal settlements, but that any business done with Israeli agricultural exporters “supports their role as participants in Israel’s colonisation and military occupation of Palestinian land.

“Moreover, campaigners point out that these companies benefit from Israel’s systematic destruction of Palestinian agriculture through exploiting the Palestinian captive market, and contribute tax revenue to the Israeli state, which in turn helps it fund its genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.”

According to an International Court of Justice decision last July, the “appropriation of Palestinian resources like water is a war crime,” the PSC said.

“All states have an obligation not to render aid or assistance to Israel in these violations of international law.”

ROME: Italy’s government on Saturday upped its exhortations to Israel to stop deadly military strikes in Gaza, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying: “Enough with the attacks.”

“We no longer want to see the Palestinian people suffer,” Tajani said during a trip to Sicily, in remarks relayed by his spokesman.

“Let’s come to a ceasefire, let’s free the hostages, but let’s leave people who are victims of Hamas alone,” he was cited as saying.

Israel’s military has announced it is in the “initial stages” of a new offensive in Gaza aimed at defeating Hamas.

Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month truce in its war against Hamas triggered by the group’s October 2023 attack.

More than 100 people in Gaza were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and another 10 on Saturday, according to the Gaza civil defense agency.

International condemnation has escalated over Israel’s military actions, and its blockage of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, where more than two million people lived before the war started.

Israel’s army said the goal of its latest offensive is to “seize control of areas within the Gaza Strip.”