UK: Green Party to vote on whether to declare a genocide in Gaza

The Green Party of England and Wales is set to vote on a motion to declare Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide, as its three-day annual conference begins. 

The mood was buoyant and energised at the party's conference in Manchester on Friday, which comes after the party enjoyed unprecedented success at the July general election, winning four seats in parliament - up from one in previous years. 

The party made Gaza a prominent plank of its campaign in several areas. 

Aasiya Bora, secretary of the Muslim Greens, told Middle East Eye that "the party has to take everyone with it" when it comes to policies on Israel and Palestine. 

Bora wants the party to go further than it has so far, saying she and others plan to table a motion to have the party declare Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide.

Chris Williams, who ran the recent election campaign, told journalists: "Gaza was a big issue in the election. A quarter of all Green voters named it as the reason they voted Green."

People of colour were increasingly feeling disillusioned with major political parties' policies towards Gaza, he added.

Green deputy leader Zack Polanski said he spoke to many people who were furious with Labour over its support for Israel's war. "It might be irreparable damage for the Labour Party," he said.

In late July, co-leader Carla Denyer joined parliament's five independent pro-Palestinian MPs - now known as the Independent Alliance - in tabling a motion advocating the immediate recognition of the state of Palestine. 

When asked if the Green MPs would be willing to cooperate further with the Independent Alliance in the future, Polanski told MEE: "Pluralism runs throughout every single thing we do. The crises facing us, from the riots to the massacre in Gaza, mean we've got to be more than our differences, we've got to work with others."

"It's got to be on a case-by-case basis. There will be differences between us and the independents. But there are other issues we're aligned on besides Gaza too," he added.

Palestine prominent

Denyer herself had fallen ill shortly before her scheduled speech and will be forced to miss the entire conference, which will run until Sunday. 

She unseated Labour's Thangam Debbonaire in Bristol Central in the July election, after campaigning heavily on opposition to Israel's war on Gaza. 

Hundreds of people gathered in the Manchester Central auditorium as the speeches began on Friday afternoon.

Councillor Hannah Spencer gave the welcome address, saying it is possible to both care about the environment and "recognise the need to free Palestine".

Co-leader Adrian Ramsay's speech focused on tying economic justice to environmental reform, calling for the nationalisation of public services.

'The crises facing us, from the riots to the massacre in Gaza, mean we've got to be more than our differences'

- Zack Polanski, Green deputy leader

He said that the Greens won a "wider range of support than ever before" at the election. 

A YouGov poll before the election found that 29 percent of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis intended to vote for Green party candidates, with 44 percent opting for Labour.

Ramsay also slammed the Labour government's "partial suspension on arms sales to Israel" as "half-hearted". 

The government announced on Monday it would block 30 out of 350 arms exports to Israel. 

Ramsay also addressed the far-right riots that swept Britain last month.

"The rioting and disorder on the streets was organised political violence fuelled by racism and Islamophobia," he said. "There, we've named it. Something we have to do to understand it and clearly work out how to defeat it." 

Dave Fogg of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) told MEE he was encouraged by the Green Party's position on Gaza. 

"They're certainly better than the Tories and Labour," he said, adding that he was optimistic the party is "heading in the right direction". 

Nationwide, Gaza has become a major cause of the Green Party's increased appeal to many traditional Labour voters over the last several months.

The Greens called for a ceasefire on 17 October, 10 days after the war broke out, and have backed both ending arms sales to Israel and measures in line with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) anti-occupation movement.

Notably, the PSC fringe session on Friday afternoon was very well-attended.

Councillor Imtiaz Ali told MEE he was "very proud that the Green Party has stood up for Palestine relative to other parties".

"You have to compare what the party is saying to what other parties are saying. The Green Party's been the closest ally of Palestinians in British politics," he said.