According to a report on the Scottish TUC website, “A delegation of Scottish Trade Unionists will today, Thursday 2 July, meet with the UK Minister for the Middle East, Ivan Lewis MP, to urge the British Government to impose sanctions on the state of Israel. The STUC is deeply concerned at Israel’s continued violations of international laws, such as the Geneva Convention. The delegation will be making the case to the Middle East Minister that the British Government has a duty to challenge Israel over the growing settlements in Palestinian territory, its actions in Gaza, and its ongoing breaches of international human rights laws. Yesterday’s (30th June) illegal abduction in international waters by the Israeli Navy of the human rights activists delivering medical supplies to Gaza, will also be raised.”
This represents a significant escalation in the boycott campaign, as it is not simply a call for academics or union members to boycott Israeli products, but in fact urges the UK government to impose sanctions — something which is normally only done to rogue regimes like Burma or Zimbabwe. It should be noted that the UK government does not even apply sanctions on a country like Colombia, which routinely leads the world in the number of trade unionists killed.