UK trade unions back motion to boycott and sanction Israel

Motion demands taking action to oppose the ‘catastrophic destruction of Gaza’ and Israeli settler violence.

People hold up flags and light flares near Knightsbridge, London, during the 78th Nakba anniversary march on May 16, 2026 [Brook Mitchell/Getty Images]

The umbrella organisation for trade unions in the United Kingdom has passed a motion calling for an end to complicity in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

The Trades Union Congress, representing more than 5.3 million workers, voted in favour of the motion on Wednesday during its annual conference in Brighton, southern England. The vote marks the first time the congress has backed the Palestinian-led movement Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions known as BDS .

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“It’s essential for the trade union movement to answer the call from the BDS movement, to challenge all complicity and to use our collective powers, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Palestinians to Free Palestine,” said Zita Holborne from Artists’ Union England, which put forward the motion.

The unanimous vote demands that the Trades Union Congress take action to oppose what the motion described as the “catastrophic destruction of Gaza” and Israeli settler violence “supported by the IDF [Israeli army]”.

The steps include campaigning to end military cooperation and arms deals with Israel, calling on the government to impose wide-ranging sanctions on Israel and backing trade union-led campaigns in support of Palestine.

Co-founder of the BDS movement, Omar Barghouti, welcomed the development.

“This mass movement of solidarity with the people of Palestine, led by Palestine Solidarity Campaign with many trade unions affiliated to it, is the reason why your government was compelled to adopt minor measures in the right direction to end its complicity,” Barghouti said.

“But it’s way short of the UK’s legal obligations to end complicity in genocide, in apartheid, in illegal occupation. So, we must work further to grow our BDS movement.”

The motion puts additional pressure on the government to take a stronger stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Last week, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on importing goods from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. Addressing Parliament, Miliband denounced “settler terrorists” for carrying out what he described as “ethnic cleansing” in parts of the West Bank.

However, the foreign secretary said he “wholeheartedly” opposes BDS, stressing that the UK would continue to “support important and valued trade” with Israel that adheres to international law.

Peter Leary, deputy director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told Al Jazeera that Wednesday’s vote marked a “tipping point”.

“In marked contrast to Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s attempt to dismiss the Palestinian BDS movement, trade unions are paving the way to secure real change, and we must keep up the pressure to force the government to take meaningful action and end all military, diplomatic and economic support for Israel,” he said.

Al Jazeera has reached out to the Trades Union Congress and the UK government but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

该动议要求采取行动，反对“对加沙的灾难性破坏”和以色列定居者的暴力行为。

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英国工会联合会通过了一项动议，呼吁停止参与以色列对加沙发动的种族灭绝战争以及在被占领的西岸地区发生的定居者暴力活动。

代表超过530万工人的英国工会大会（TUC）周三在英格兰南部城市布莱顿举行的年度大会上投票赞成这项动议。此次投票标志着该大会首次支持由巴勒斯坦领导的“抵制、撤资、制裁”（BDS）运动。

问题 1（共 3 个）：一个政党可以既是左翼政党又是犹太复国主义者吗？

列表 2（共 3 项）：以色列如何系统性地摧毁被占领西岸巴勒斯坦人的生活

巴勒斯坦周刊（共3篇，第3篇）：定居点制裁引发外交危机

“工会运动必须响应抵制、撤资、制裁运动的号召，挑战一切同流合污的行为，并利用我们的集体力量，与巴勒斯坦人民并肩站在一起，争取巴勒斯坦的自由，”提出该动议的英国艺术家联盟的齐塔·霍尔伯恩说道。

一致通过的投票要求工会大会采取行动，反对该动议中所描述的“对加沙的灾难性破坏”以及“以色列国防军支持的”以色列定居者暴力行为。

这些措施包括发起运动，终止与以色列的军事合作和武器交易，呼吁政府对以色列实施广泛的制裁，并支持工会领导的声援巴勒斯坦的运动。

BDS运动的联合创始人奥马尔·巴尔古提对这一进展表示欢迎。

巴尔古提说：“这场由巴勒斯坦团结运动领导、众多工会加入的声援巴勒斯坦人民的大规模运动，迫使你们的政府采取一些小的措施，朝着正确的方向结束其共谋行为。”

“但这远远没有达到英国在法律上应尽的义务，即结束其在种族灭绝、种族隔离和非法占领中的共谋行为。因此，我们必须进一步努力，壮大我们的抵制、撤资和制裁运动。”

该动议给政府施加了更大的压力，要求其对以色列在加沙和被占领的西岸地区的行动采取更强硬的立场。

上周，英国外交大臣埃德·米利班德宣布禁止从以色列定居点进口商品，这些定居点违反了国际法。米利班德在议会发表讲话时，谴责“定居者恐怖分子”在西岸部分地区实施他所谓的“种族清洗”。

然而，外交大臣表示，他“全心全意”反对抵制、撤资和制裁运动（BDS），并强调英国将继续“支持与以色列进行遵守国际法的重要且有价值的贸易”。

巴勒斯坦团结运动副主任彼得·利里告诉半岛电视台，周三的投票标志着一个“转折点”。

他说：“与外交大臣埃德·米利班德试图轻视巴勒斯坦抵制、撤资和制裁运动的做法截然相反，工会正在为实现真正的变革铺平道路，我们必须继续施压，迫使政府采取有意义的行动，停止对以色列的一切军事、外交和经济支持。”

半岛电视台已联系英国工会大会和英国政府，但截至发稿时尚未收到回复。