Alison Bennett's position on Gaza

Alison has been consistent in calling for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

In addition to writing to the Prime Minister directly, Alison co-signed Ed Davey's letter to Keir Starmer ahead of Donald Trump's visit to the UK, urging him to work to bring an end to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Alison has challenged the then Foreign Secretary David Lammy on the killings of Palestinians queueing for aid and complicity in the starvation of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, she supports the recognition of the State of Palestine, and has co-signed both the Liberal Democrat letter and the cross-party letter urging the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to do so. 

Alison is aware that this conflict goes beyond Gaza and, in the Westminster Hall Debate on forced displacement in the West Bank, raised banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli Settlements. Last year, alongside other Liberal Democrat MPs, Alison met with Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Husam Zomlot to discuss the International Court of Justice's order for Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories and the role that the UK must play pushing for peace and a two state solution.

Where the Liberal Democrats stand:

Arms exports: Liberal Democrats support an immediate ban on the export of all UK weapons to Israel, including component parts for F-35 planes, to ensure that no UK arms can be used to perpetrate human rights abuses. As far back as 2013 Liberal Democrats have advocated for a ‘presumption of denial’ for export licenses to governments listed as human rights concerns in the Foreign Office’s annual human rights report, including Israel. This policy has been included in Liberal Democrat manifestos in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2024.

Ceasefire: The Liberal Democrats have been calling for an immediate bilateral ceasefire since 2023. Since then, this call has been reiterated by Liberal Democrat parliamentarians and by party conference.

Hostages: The Liberal Democrats have been consistent in demanding the immediate return of all hostages. Ed Davey has personally met with the families of those who have been taken hostage or murdered by Hamas. Lib Dem Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Calum Miller has written to the Foreign Secretary to call for the Government to pressure Qatar, where Hamas maintains a political headquarters, to take action to force Hamas to release the hostages they still hold. Alison continues to call for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages as an urgent priority.