UK trade unions back motion to boycott and sanction Israel

According to Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents over 5.3 million workers in the UK, has officially approved a motion to boycott and sanction Israel. During the organization’s annual conference in Brighton, delegates voted unanimously to support the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement for the first time. The motion seeks to address the destruction in Gaza and violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, calling for an end to British military cooperation and arms sales with Israel.

Proponents of the motion, including Zita Holborne of the Artists’ Union England, stated that the move is intended to show solidarity with Palestinians and challenge government complicity. Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the BDS movement, lauded the vote as a significant display of collective power, though he argued that more extensive measures are required to meet the UK’s international legal obligations regarding the situation.

The development places further pressure on the British government, which recently implemented a ban on goods from Israeli settlements while simultaneously maintaining opposition to the BDS movement. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has condemned settler violence in the West Bank but emphasized that the UK intends to continue trade with Israel that complies with international law. Meanwhile, activists like Peter Leary of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign view the TUC’s vote as a pivotal moment in the effort to change official government policy.

Source: Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/16/uk-trade-unions-back-motion-to-boycott-and-sanction-israel?traffic_source=rss