Arabic version: نقابات العمال البريطانية تؤيد مقترحاً لمقاطعة إسرائيل

According to Al Jazeera, the UK’s Trades Union Congress has unanimously backed a motion calling for action against what it described as complicity in Israel’s war on Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The vote took place on Wednesday at the congress’s annual conference in Brighton, southern England.

The Trades Union Congress, which represents more than 5.3 million workers, backed the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement for the first time. The motion calls for campaigns to end military cooperation and arms deals with Israel, for the government to impose wide-ranging sanctions, and for trade union-led campaigns supporting Palestine.

Zita Holborne of Artists’ Union England, which submitted the motion, said the trade union movement should answer the BDS movement’s call, challenge complicity and stand with Palestinians. The motion referred to the “catastrophic destruction of Gaza” and Israeli settler violence that it said was supported by the Israeli army.

BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti welcomed the vote, saying solidarity efforts had helped compel the UK government to take what he called minor measures. He said more work was needed to expand the BDS movement. Peter Leary, deputy director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, described the decision as a “tipping point”.

The vote increases pressure on the UK government after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced last week a ban on imports from Israeli settlements. Miliband said he “wholeheartedly” opposed BDS and that the UK would continue trade with Israel that adheres to international law. Al Jazeera said the Trades Union Congress and the UK government had not responded to its requests for comment at the time of publication.