Joanna Cherry, along with over 100 Parliamentarians from 11 parties, has signed a letter to the Foreign Secretary defending the independence of the International Criminal Court investigations. 

Joanna Cherry challenges the UK Government on their assertion that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Israel or Palestine.

Today I challenged the U.K. Govt over the basis of their assertion that the #ICC does not have jurisdiction over Israel or Palestine. The Minister had no answer & referred to correspondence regarding the #ICJ. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/99dMuc3qpb

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) May 20, 2024

First published in The National, Friday 17 May 2024

On Monday it was reported that right wing protesters in Israel had blocked aid trucks destined for Gaza, throwing food packages onto the road and ripping open bags of grain.

Whilst the UN Aid Agency confirmed that Northern Gaza is now experiencing full-blown famine, video footage showed fit young men in their late teens and early twenties stomping on food parcels and throwing their contents down a ravine.

The attack happened at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. US national security adviser Jack Sullivan said: “It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convoys coming from Jordan, going to Gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance.” 

That same day in Westminster Hall in the House of Commons MPs from across parliament came together to call for urgent family visas to allow people with loved ones in Gaza to bring them to the safety of the UK temporarily.  I spoke in the debate alongside SNP colleagues. I started by declaring my support for the Balfour project. It was set up in 2011 by husband-and-wife Roger and Monica Spooner. They had been on holiday to the middle East with friends who were Jordanian and were shocked to learn about Britain’s role in Palestine.

Promises were made by Britain to Arabs in 1915 that a state would be created stretching across the Near East including Palestine in return for a military alliance with the British against the Ottoman Empire an ally of Germany during the first world war.

However, those promises were betrayed notwithstanding the Balfour Declaration in 1917 which appeared to promise a Jewish homeland whilst doing nothing to prejudice the rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. 

On their travels the Spooners met many Palestinians who blamed Britain for the loss of their nation and the dispossession of their land during the Nakba. Nakba, Arabic for "catastrophe," refers to the 1948 displacement of roughly 700,000 Palestinians.

Following the UN partition plan for Palestine, war erupted between Palestinians and Jewish forces. Many Palestinians fled violence or were forcibly expelled from their homes. The Nakba remains a central point of tension in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinians seek a right of return to their lost lands, a demand disputed by Israel. The Nakba's legacy is one of dispossession and longing for a homeland. 

The Spooner’s work on raising awareness has grown into the charity the Balfour Project. It has three broad aims, to acknowledge Britain’s historic role in shaping 20th and 21st century Palestine/Israel, particularly in light of the Balfour Declaration and the policies of the British Mandate; to Support Palestinians and Israelis in building a peaceful future based on equal rights, justice and security for all, and to work for the British Government’s recognition of the State of Palestine. 

The British Government recognised the State of Israel in 1950, but Palestinians remain stateless, exiled, refugees or second-class citizens within Israel and the Occupied Territories.

That is why so many people in the UK feel that Britain bears a responsibility for what has happened to the Palestinians since the Nakba and why the UK Government should be doing far more than it is at present to help Palestinians who have been so cruelly caught up in the war.

Of course, none of this condones the evil actions of Hamas on October 7 but it does go to underline the plight of innocent civilians in Gaza suffering as a result if Israel’s backlash and to put the whole terrible situation in its historic context. 

MPs called on the UK Government to allow British Citizens with immediate and extended family members in Gaza to come to the UK on temporary visas. My constituent Dr Eman El-Bahnassawy is a specialist dentist who managed to evacuate her 79-year-old mother from Gaza to Cairo.  

As a child, this now elderly lady witnessed the Nakba and she has endured all the recent wars on Gaza.  She has already been displaced 9 times during the current war and her home has been destroyed by the bombing, so she has nowhere to go back to.  

The UK Government has previously introduced successful bespoke pathways for those fleeing persecution in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong so it can quickly introduce visas when it suits it. What is being called for here, however, is not akin to homes for Ukraine. British Citizens living and working here simply want to be able to house and support their own family members and get them out of Gaza before they are killed.

In the absence of a specific family route, they can only rely on existing visa routes, such as a family visa for example as a spouse or partner or based on refugee family reunification, or a skilled worker dependent visa. These types of applications involve prolonged waits, up to 6 months for a family visa, and hefty fees - £1846 per person if applying from outside the UK to join one’s partner, parent, or child, in addition to an immigration health surcharge of at least £2587.50 per adult.

So many of the children in Gaza have been orphaned because of the war, under the existing schemes it is very difficult for the remaining extended families to rescue their kin, so these existing routes do not fit in the current crisis.  

You cannot apply for a visa unless you are able to have your fingerprints scanned and a digital photograph taken of your face in a UK Visa processing centre. You cannot get out of Gaza to the UK without these scans and you cannot have them without getting out of Gaza. The only remaining option is to evacuate to Egypt.

This evacuation process has forced many families to crowdfund tens of thousands of pounds to pay private companies to facilitate their loved ones’ exit from Gaza into Egypt.

That option is now also closed due to Israel’s recent occupation of the Rafa crossing. Those who have already fled to Egypt are trapped in limbo - unable to join their loved ones in the UK because they are waiting for the outcome of an application (if they can afford it) or because they are simply ineligible under existing routes. Palestinians’ precarious immigration status in Egypt also means they lack effective access to state support to rebuild their lives. 

Some online commentators reacting to the debate in parliament said that neighbouring Arab countries should accept refugees from Gaza and that it is not the responsibility of the UK. However, what is being talked about here is people with family ties to British citizens being allowed to join their families in the UK.

The refusal of Egypt and Jordan to accept large numbers of refugees is rooted in their fear that Israel wants to permanently expel Palestinians into the Sinai desert to finally end Palestinian demands for statehood.

Many Palestinians live as refugees in other countries, 300,000 people fled mostly to Jordan during the 1967 Middle East War. Displacement is at the root of the ongoing conflict.  

The UK Government has repeatedly failed to introduce more safe and legal routes for refugees to come to the UK. They show no sign of agreeing to allow Palestinians living in the UK to bring any relatives here, even when they are old ladies or children, and family sponsorship is promised.

It’s a humanitarian outrage and a dereliction of the UK’s historic moral responsibilities. 

Joanna Cherry calls on the UK Government to grant visas to Palestinians who are family members of UK Citizens so they they might be reunited with their families and come to the UK to be supported by their relatives.  

The UK Goverment should urgently set up a visa scheme so the relatives of British people who are trapped in #Gaza or who have fled to Egypt can be reunited with their families in the UK @GazaFamReunited pic.twitter.com/VqXKM9njjP

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) May 14, 2024

Joanna Cherry has signed a letter to Home Secretary, James Cleverly MP, demanding the creation of a Gaza Family Scheme to allow Palestinians in the UK to bring their family members trapped in Gaza to safety.

Joanna asked when the U.K. Government will introduce new safe and legal migration routes, including family reunion schemes for relatives in Gaza, as well as humanitarian visas for women at risk in Afghanistan and Iran

Today I asked when the U.K. Govt will introduce new safe and legal migration routes including family reunification visas so UK Citizens can get their families out of #Gaza safely. And women at risk can be rescued from Afghanistan & Iran pic.twitter.com/UtNYsUFyMM

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) May 1, 2024

Joanna attending International Workers' Memorial Day ceremony at West Princes Street Gardens

It was my privilege today to lay a wreath at the #Edinburgh TUC & Scottish Hazards International Workers Memorial Day ceremony & to speak in tribute to healthcare workers, aid workers & journalists wrongfully killed in #Gaza & to demand a #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/1R0Hzfc9nf

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) April 28, 2024

Both Iran & Israel must abide by international law. Today I asked the PM to condemn both the unlawful killing of aid workers & the ongoing slaughter of innocent civilians in #Gaza. It’s shameful that he feels unable to do so. pic.twitter.com/XLdP3B3vZp

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) April 15, 2024

Joanna has signed a letter, along with parliamentary colleagues across parties, calling on Israel to stop using starvation as a weapon of war, to demand the restoration of UK funds to UNRWA and for the UK government to increase pressure on Israel as it continues to block full access of humanitarian aid into Gaza, in breach of international law. The letter also demands that Israel should abide by the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice.

Joanna has signed a letter, along with parliamentary colleagues across parties, calling on the UK Government to immediately suspend export licenses for arms transfers to Israel

Over 500,000 civilians are at starvation levels in #Gaza. 27 children & 3 adults have died from dehydration & starvation already. Using starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime. Israel must allow aid in as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/z4jG1e0Dyx

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) March 19, 2024

Joanna attended a briefing organised by Yachad, a movement which empowers British Jewish people to advocate for a political resolution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Joanna heard and met Michael Sfard, a leading human rights lawyer and expert in International Humanitarian Law, and Yehuda Shaul, a founder of Breaking the Silence, an organisation of veteran IDF soldiers who have taken it upon themselves to expose the public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories. Yehuda now runs a think tank, Ofek, which is focused on policy around two-states and occupation. Both are experts on topics around settler violence and have in-depth knowledge of the issues surrounding the announced UK and USA sanctions and entry bans.  

The organisation, Breaking the Silence was one of 12 Israeli human rights organisations to have signed an open letter accusing Israel of failing to comply with the international court of justice (ICJ) ruling that it should facilitate access of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Joanna has signed a letter organised by Progressive International declaring a commitment to end arms sales to the State of Israel

In an apology to the SNP for his actions on the SNP's Opposition Day, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle offered the SNP the opportunity of an SO24 Emergency Debate to discuss Gaza, only to rescind once more

It is a stunning breach of promise and a total disregard of the rights of the third biggest party in the House. This really matters because it’s a travesty of the fairness & impartiality any party should expect from the Speaker. 2/2

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) February 27, 2024

I just made a donation to Medical Aid for Palestinians. Please join me in doing so If you can. https://t.co/2JJ03YZ0Yo

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) February 24, 2024

If you would like to make a donation, click here

I'm grateful to Palestinian students at @HeriotWattUni for inviting me today to hear their experiences & the profound grief they suffer as their families & University professors in #Gaza are killed. Thank you to Rev Jane Howitt for facilitating. #CeaseFireNow pic.twitter.com/NKMq7nKZBj

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) February 23, 2024

First published in The National, Friday 23 February 2024

MANY column inches have been expanded over the last 24 hours on the chaos that unfolded in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

National readers should be in no doubt that what we saw was a very clear indication that at Westminster, when it suits the establishment, the rules and precedent will be set aside, whether to save political skins or blushes, even when what is at stake is of the gravest importance.

What happened was a very clear example of Britannia waiving the rules.

None of us who believe in an independent Scotland will be shocked by this and for most Yessers the whole farce makes Westminster look even more out of touch than usual.

Indeed, as Alex Salmond tweeted it was a very strong illustration that Westminster is not capable of representing Scotland on the international stage.

For our friends and neighbours who are not yet fully convinced that Scotland should be an independent country, it was another clear example of how their personal views about national and international issues are out of kilter with the prevailing political establishment in England, both Labour and Conservative.

A Labour government at Westminster will not change that one iota. If Scots continue to remain part of a political union with England these are the implications soft No/wavering Yes voters must continue to weigh up.

Some people will argue that we should be pleased the Commons eventually voted for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. That is true. However, the impact of that vote has been lost in the chaos generated by the chicanery that went on behind the scenes and the nonsense that was played out on television screens across the globe.

That is not just my view but that of the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, as reported in this newspaper yesterday. Furthermore, unless the UK Government act upon the motion, which seems unlikely, Israel will not be dissuaded from continuing its violations of international law and the slaughter of innocent civilians in what is left of Gaza.

Accusations of playing politics against the SNP are spurious. We've been consistent in our support for a ceasefire and the observance of international law. The Labour Party have not. Instead, they have had to be dragged kicking and screaming to support a ceasefire and are still not prepared to call out the enormity of what Israel has done to innocent civilians in its legitimate quest to wipe out Hamas.

It seems that it's OK for the Labour Party in Scotland to call out the collective punishment of people in Gaza as they did in their recent conference motion but beyond the pale for the SNP to have it clearly and unequivocally in a parliamentary motion.

Labour have had ample opportunity to bring forward a motion for a ceasefire. Since October 7, 2023, the Labour Party have had four Opposition days with eight opposition motions. On none of these occasions did they seek to debate the situation in Israel or Gaza. Instead, they equivocated and dragged their feet on the question of a ceasefire.

Then when they faced being put on the spot by an SNP motion, they nobbled the Speaker and hijacked the debate to have their own heavily watered-down ceasefire motion take precedence. What they did was all about getting Keir Starmer and Labour off the hook rather than focusing on the obvious suffering in Gaza and the appalling breaches of international law.

At Westminster as at Holyrood and indeed in most parliaments, government business dominates the agenda. Opposition days exist to give opposition parties the opportunity to hold debates and votes on the issues that matter to them. Labour get these very regularly. The SNP get a handful in every parliamentary session.

How these debates are conducted is governed by longstanding convention and under Standing Order 31 of the House of Commons. Normally what happens is that the opposition party move their motion first and if the Government have an amendment they move that in reply. Then at the end of the debate the opposition party's motion is voted on.

If it is not passed then there is a vote on the Government amendment. The procedures were introduced in 1979 with the specific purpose of allowing a vote to take place on the motion laid down by the Opposition party on their allocated day.

On Wednesday there were three amendments to the SNP motion, a Labour one, a Government one and a LibDem one. What the Speaker allowed to happen was for the first vote to be on Labour's amendment to the SNP motion with the inevitable result that if it was passed there would be no vote at all on the SNP motion.

When the Speaker announced his decision to upend the rules and prevent a clear vote on the SNP motion, he said that there was precedent for approaching matters this way. When he said that I believe he misled the Commons.

The Clerk of the House's letter of advice to him which has been published and which you can read on my Twitter feed explains that there have only been two occasions in the last 25 years where an amendment has been moved by an opposition party other than the one to which the day had been allocated, but, crucially, in those circumstances no government amendment had been tabled.

So, if precedent and the rules had been followed, the first vote that occurred should have been on the stronger SNP motion.

A story is now being spun that Starmer asked the Speaker to upend the rule book because of threats that were being brought to bear on his MPs.

However, journalists with very well-placed sources say there were multiple conversations with the Speaker which included messages being passed to him by Labour Party MPs that if he didn't do their bidding they would not support him for Speaker on the other side of the General Election. If the Speaker gave in to such threats then he has fatally compromised his impartiality.

I fear that the threats narrative is being used to detract from the shabby reality of what occurred on Wednesday and to let Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party off the hook. However, if it is true that threats of violence influenced the Speaker's decision then that is also a very serious matter. It should not have been allowed to happen.

It is a sad fact of our modern democracy that politicians do sometimes face threats to their personal safety for doing what they believe to be right. I have personal experience of this because of my support for women's and LGB rights.

I have even faced criminal threats from within my own party and at times my professional life has been made close to intolerable, but I have never let it stop me speaking out for what I believed to be right or from doing my job.

Nor have I sought to bend the rules or to nobble those who are supposed to be impartial in order to get off the hook of following my conscience.

I am in no doubt that the Speaker of the House of Commons should resign or be removed from office over what he did on Wednesday. However, it is not only his integrity that is an issue. Starmer looks like being the future prime minister of the United Kingdom. If this is an indication of how he and his party intend to handle matters, then we should be very concerned.

I know that many of my constituents who might otherwise think about voting Labour are already concerned about Labour's equivocation on a ceasefire. I suspect they will be equally concerned about the dirty dealing that went on behind the scenes on Wednesday.

It certainly strengthens my offer to them and that of any other SNP MP who is prepared to follow their conscience and do the right thing rather than indulge in party-political stitch-ups.

The SNP’s full motion is:
 
That this house calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel; notes with shock and distress that the death toll has now risen beyond 28,000, the vast majority of whom were women and children; further notes that there are currently 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, 610,000 of whom are children; also notes that they have nowhere else to go; condemns any military assault on what is now the largest refugee camp in the world; further calls for the immediate release of all hostages taken by Hamas and an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people; and recognises that the only way to stop the slaughter of innocent civilians is to press for a ceasefire now.

I call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. On any view 30k civilians dead, the majority women & children is an excessive use of force and must be stopped

The SNP ceasefire motion is unambiguous, MPs should back the motion and send a clear signal that the killing must end. pic.twitter.com/tShcZKhb5v

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) February 21, 2024

Joanna Cherry along with the APPG on Palestine met with Rev. Dr. Munther Issac, a Palestinian Christian pastor & theologian and Dean of Bethlehem College. He explained why there can be no peace without justice.

Wednesday, February 7th 2024

People trapped in #Gaza need urgent humanitarian visas. Many people in the UK desperately fear for the lives of their relatives in Gaza. Last night I joined @PeterGrantMP to call on the UK Government to act now. pic.twitter.com/spRIMmklC4

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) February 7, 2024

It is vital we meet our responsibilities under the #Balfourdeclaration. The UK Government should grant humanitarian visas. We know that Palestinians will want to return home if and when it’s safe to do so, the UK Government must act now to give refuge to people who want to leave pic.twitter.com/xbY6pSRsc8

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) February 7, 2024

Question to Andrew Mitchell, Foreign Office Minister on 30th January 2024

The UK Government has double standards when it comes to enforcement of International Law. Israel must comply with the legally binding provisional measures set out by the International Court of Justice. As previously with Myanmar the UK Government should be making that clear. pic.twitter.com/xdfKM6Il1h

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) January 30, 2024

Question to Andrew Mitchell, Foreign Office Minister on January 8 2024

South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in #Gaza is damning. The court will decide whether their actions constitute genocide but it’s clear Israel has breached international law & must be held accountable pic.twitter.com/Zno6gcsGal

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) January 8, 2024

Joanna Cherry joined medics from Health Workers for Palestine at a vigil in Edinburgh in solidarity with health care workers in Gaza. Medics from all over the world are calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Wednesday, December 20 2023

Monday, 11th December 2023

We have a collective moral and legal responsibility to avoid genocide. The international community should act to make sure the laws of war are obeyed and take urgent action to establish a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. My speech yesterday in the petition debate on Israel and Gaza. pic.twitter.com/D72NwXRS1a

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) December 12, 2023