TUC leader accuses Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza
Paul Nowak calls for immediate recognition of Palestine in Congress speech
The General Secretary of the TUC has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza in his keynote speech to the annual conference.
To applause, the TUC leader Paul Nowak said: “Congress, Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups are clear.
“Amnesty International is clear. Medicine San Frontier is clear. And I think we should be clear as well. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is committing genocide in Gaza”.
In a speech at the conference in Brighton, which did not reference the terror attack in Jerusalem that same morning, Nowak also called for the immediate recognition of the State of Palestine, adding, “because you cannot, you cannot have a two-state solution without a safe, secure and free Palestine”.
Nowak said he wished to reiterate the TUC’s stance on the Gaza conflict, which calls for a “permanent cease fire, the release of all hostages and all Palestinian political prisoners”.
He also backed the suspension of the UK trade deal with Israel, tougher sanctions, a ban on imports from the occupied territories, respect for international law and the end of licenses for the arms trade with Israel.
Nowak also said: “In April, I travelled to Palestine, and I saw the conditions workers and unions face in the West Bank.
“One of the communities I visited, where a mosque has been burnt out, has now been erased from the map at gunpoint by illegal settlers – homes, land and livelihoods stolen”.
During the speech, Shaher Saed, the general secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, was given a standing ovation from delegates.
Saed will address the conference himself on Wednesday.
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