Statement on Gaza: May 2025

Thank you for writing to me about the ongoing and devastating Palestine-Israel conflict. 

Since being elected to Parliament in July 2024, the Liberal Democrats have pressed the Labour government to do everything in its powers to bring this conflict to an end. 

I have signed eleven ‘Early Day Motions’ setting out the Liberal Democrat position. You will see from the dates that the Motions were tabled that, as the conflict has escalated, my party has gone further in the actions that it is calling for. Please click these links to read the full texts:
 
EDM 11: Peace in Israel and Gaza 
EDM 58: UK arms exports to Israel 
EDM 207: Conflict in the Middle East 
EDM 208: Peace in the Middle East 
EDM 209: Immediate ceasefire in Lebanon 
EDM 338: Israeli Knesset decision to ban UNRWA
EDM 763: US Proposals for Gaza 
EDM 856: West Bank
EDM 1050: Israeli Defence Force Attacks on Humanitarian Workers 
EDM 1186: Blockade of Aid to Gaza 
EDM 1230: Gaza Occupation Proposals 

I stand by the recent words of my Liberal Democrat colleague, Munira Wilson MP, who said in Parliament on 6th May: 

“In the light of the latest outrage from the Netanyahu Government in displacing hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians, which comes on top of the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, the murdering of aid workers and the expansion of violence by settlers, we get from the Minister strong opposition, a request for “urgent clarity” and a reiteration of his “outrage”. He says that he is taking action, but he can hear from all sides of the House that nobody is satisfied with the level of action that the British Government are taking. I implore him to listen to the support from all sides of the House, recognise a Palestinian state, impose a full arms embargo on Israel” 

I share your deep concern and condemn the Israeli Government’s actions, both through expanding its military operations in Gaza and in continuing its utterly abhorrent blockade of the Strip.

Our consistent objectives since the breakdown of the ceasefire in March have been to return to a state of ceasefire, secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity, ensure unhindered access for aid to enter and be distributed to those who desperately need it in Gaza and start to rebuild the conditions that would allow for a two-state solution that secures the long-term peace and coexistence of Israel and a Palestinian state.

The actions of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Cabinet - both in blocking aid to Gaza for over ten weeks and expanding military action with a view to taking over the entire Strip - have gravely and egregiously undermined progress towards these goals.

That’s why I was relieved to see the Government taking a step forward in holding the Israeli Government accountable earlier in May. After months of strong words, it has moved to suspend progress towards a new free trade agreement with Israel and will be reviewing the 2030 UK-Israel Bilateral Roadmap - indicating that Israel’s blockade of Gaza and expanded military actions will have consequences.

Liberal Democrats have been clear, however, that this action remains wholly insufficient in the face of the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. The most urgent priority is to press Israel to lift the blockade. It is wholly unacceptable to read reports that the very limited aid that has passed into Gaza has not been released by Israeli forces to the UN for distribution.

We are demanding that the Government does everything in its power, urgently, to enable aid to reach those whose lives depend on it in Gaza, to ensure the UK is not complicit in the grotesque use of starvation as a tool of war by the Netanyahu Government.

Our Government also needs to go much further - both to prevent further egregious violations of international law in Gaza and to show those Israeli ministers who advocate the dispossession of Palestinians that they too will be held accountable.

That’s why Liberal Democrats are continuing to call for:

• The immediate sanctioning of Ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who have consistently called for the dispossession of Palestinians across the Occupied Territories.
• 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.
• The UK Government to legislate to stop all trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories, to ensure that the UK does not contribute to the growth of settlements.
• The immediate recognition of a Palestinian state, affirming the right of Palestinians to self-determination and recognising that only a two-state solution will deliver security and dignity to both Palestinians and Israelis.

The expansion of the Israeli Government’s military activity in Gaza is disgraceful. It is already bringing further devastation for Palestinians, who have already endured 19 months of war. Nor is it clear that military action will do anything to support getting the 58 remaining hostages back to Israel. Diplomacy and negotiations have been the only consistently successful route through which those in Hamas’ captivity have made it home.

In his response to the Government on Tuesday 20th May, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Calum Miller pressed the Government on when it will finally recognise that the Israeli Government’s actions constitute “an actual breach of international law”, rather than just the ‘risk’ of a breach which the Government has so far maintained.

Calum has also written to the Foreign Secretary, calling on the Government to commit to the following additional measures in the event that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Cabinet continues military action and refuses to comprehensively lift its aid blockade:

• Consider sanctions on other Members of the Knesset from the Otzma Yehudit and Mafdal–Religious Zionism parties, including:
   
  • Minister of Settlement and National Missions, Orit Strook, who claimed in April 2024 that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian people".
  • Minister of Heritage, Amihai Eliyahu, who said in November 2023 that “nuking Gaza” was a possible policy solution - which he later claimed was “metaphorical”.
  • Minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev, and the Galilee, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, who said in April 2024 that rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza would represent a “total victory” for Israel.
     
• Confirm that any Ministers in the Israeli Cabinet who mirror the language of Ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and Katz and call for the dispossession of Palestinians should be considered eligible for future rounds of sanctions.
• Declare that the prospect of sanctions remain on the table for any Ministers in the Israeli Cabinet who oppose the comprehensive lifting of the aid blockade.

I am absolutely committed to continuing to push the Government to adopt Liberal Democrat proposals which would, if implemented, apply genuine pressure to Prime Minister Netanyahu to lift his blockade and stop his destructive military campaign.

Thank you once again for raising this important issue with me. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.