A PETITION to have the UK Government ban the Israeli military under terrorism laws is gaining traction.
Signatories have called on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (below) to proscribe the Israeli Defence Forces for “large-scale, deliberate acts of violence against civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank”.
The petition says it is a “sincerely held belief that the atrocities and tactics used by the [IDF] are designed to inflict terror” under the definition set out in the Terrorism Act 2000.
The act defines terrorism as the use or threat of violence or serious damage to property intended to influence the government, an international governmental organisation, the public or a section of the public “sincerely held belief that the atrocities and tactics used by the [IDF] are designed to inflict terror”.
The IDF has perpetrated a genocide in Gaza, with the stated aim of removing Hamas, the Islamist group which controls the Palestinian territory, from power.
The petition adds: “We believe the IDF has met multiple criteria within this definition, and that its actions pose a threat to the safety and security of civilians.
“The Terrorism Act 2000 explicitly states that acts of terrorism committed outside the UK still fall under its definition and can be grounds for proscription.”
The petition alludes to the UK Government’s proscription of Palestine Action under the same Act, with MPs making it a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison, for belonging to or expressing support for the group.
The petitioners said: “We would like to highlight the hypocrisy of branding non-violent action against genocide as ‘terrorism’, whilst providing material support to what we believe are ACTUAL acts of terror, perpetrated daily by the ‘IDF’. “And we call on the Home Secretary, (if she is truly intent on tackling terrorism and not simply using the term to suppress dissent), to proscribe the ‘IDF’ as a terrorist entity, as laid out above."
You can find the petition on the 38 Degrees website.
