CARLISLE'S Palestine advocacy group hopes that a new UK government will bring "positive change" to the people of Palestine, Israel, and the wider Middle East.

Palestine Solidarity Group Carlisle & District is advocating the new government to support an "immediate ceasefire" to conclude actions that the International Court of Justice sees as a potential instance of genocide. 

In a statement, they said: "We very much hope that our new Labour representatives across the Cumbria region will work to reinstate UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) funding so that famine and mass malnutrition can be averted. 

"There is no other organisation capable of managing the logistics of aid distribution as effectively as UNWRA and many other countries re-instated funding months ago.

"We look forward to the urgent implementation of recognition of a Palestinian state, and a comprehensive two-way embargo on the trade in weapons, components, and military technology with Israel (and other rights-abusing states) to ensure that Britain and its citizens are not complicit in aiding and abetting crimes including genocide. 

"We look forward to meeting Cumbria’s new parliamentary representatives shortly," a spokesperson said. 

The group will continue to hold their weekly vigils outside Carlisle's former House of Fraser building every Saturday from 1pm.