British labour unions on Thursday agreed to support a boycott of some Israeli goods in response to the offensive in Gaza. The boycott, approved at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress, calls for a ban on importing goods produced in some Israeli settlements, an end to arms trading with Israel and disinvestment from some companies.
Union officials said the boycott would target products including dates, herbs, fruit and vegetables grown on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "We will support a boycott of those goods and agricultural products that originate in illegal settlements through developing an effective, targeted consumer-led boycott campaign," the TUC said in a statement. The TUC is the umbrella organisation of 58 British labour unions, representing about 6.5 million workers.
Members of the group's general council held often fractious talks on the motion- originally tabled by the Fire Brigades Union - at an annual conference in Liverpool, northern England. The boycott was proposed in response to the December-January offensive in Gaza, in which about 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and 13 Israelis, including four civilians, died. Israel said it was seeking to stop rocket fire by Gaza militants on southern Israeli towns.
Two years ago, Britain's largest union of college teachers attempted to organise a boycott of Israeli universities, which would have led to a halt on funding, visits and conferences with Israeli institutions. The University and College Union was forced to abandon the plan because it breached discrimination laws.
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