United Kingdom

03 June 2024; MEMO: British coffee chain Pret A Manger has cancelled plans to open in Israel due to the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

Pret had announced last year plans to open its first outlet in Tel Aviv by the end of 2024 and establish more than 40 branches in the apartheid state over the next ten years.

22 May 2024; MEMO: In a major triumph for human rights protesters, the UK High Court has declared the government’s anti-protest legislation unlawful. The court found that the law, which lowered the threshold for protest crackdowns to any disturbance deemed “more than minor” was enacted without proper authority.

22 May 2024; MEMO: British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced on Wednesday that general election in the UK would be held on 4 July, Anadolu Agency reports.

During his address at Downing Street, Sunak said that the country will head to polls on Thursday, 4 July.

“Earlier today, I spoke with His Majesty, the King (Charles) to request the dissolution of parliament. The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on the fourth of July,” he announced.

23 May 2024; MEMO: An NGO has submitted a complaint to the United Kingdom’s Scotland Yard against Israel’s use of “starvation as a weapon of war” and targeting of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, in what is the latest such complaint regarding war crimes in Gaza to be reported to British police.

25 April 2024; MEMO: The UK has asked Israel to allow foreign observers to visit Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, according to Israeli media on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The British request was about to be approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but strong opposition from far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir prevented this from happening, Maariv newspaper said.

18 April 2024; AP: PARIS — Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem captured this year’s prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award Thursday with a depiction of loss and sorrow in Gaza, a heartrending photo of a Palestinian woman cradling the body of her young niece.

26 March 2024; MEMO: A UK High Court ruling on Tuesday granted WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, the right to appeal his extradition to the US and set a new hearing date for the case in May before adjourning it, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a partial victory for Assange, the UK High Court has decided against his immediate extradition to the US, where he is wanted on espionage charges.

28 March 2024; MEMO: Members of Parliament (MPs) and ministers from the House of Lords have urged the British government to cease arms sales to Israel in response to international pressure against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Over 130 parliamentarians have endorsed a letter addressed to Foreign Secretary David Cameron, calling for a ban on arms exports to Israel.

22 March 2024; MEMO: British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has accused Israel of impeding the humanitarian aid flow into Gaza.

In a letter addressed to Alicia Kearns, chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Cameron said it “was an enormous frustration” that humanitarian aid to Gaza had been “routinely held up waiting for Israeli permissions”.

20 March 2024; MEMO: Activists in the UK have launched the “No Tax for Genocide” campaign, calling on supporters to stop paying taxes to protest and change the British government’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza.

The campaign’s founders argue that paying taxes while the government supports Israel is tantamount to “aiding and abetting genocide,” which they claim is “illegal” under international and domestic laws.