As the United Kingdom prepares for a change in its prime minister next week, more than 80 members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords have signed an open letter urging the government to implement sweeping, comprehensive sanctions against Israel, while a coalition of leading British humanitarian organizations has issued sharp criticism of outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s record on Palestinian rights.
Organized by Labour Members of Parliament Imran Hussain and Richard Burgon, the letter addressed to UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calls on the government to align its actions with the 2023 advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This July 19 marks exactly two years since the ICJ ruled that Israel’s 56-year-long occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful under international law, concluding that Israel’s near-total segregation of Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank constitutes a breach of international prohibitions against racial segregation and apartheid.
The cross-party group of signatories — which includes former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Green Party Members of Parliament Sian Berry and Hannah Spencer, former New Labour cabinet minister Lord Peter Hain, and Jewish Kindertransport refugee Lord Alf Dubs — argues that two years on from the landmark ruling, Israel has only expanded its unlawful occupation. They point to a series of escalatory actions that have erased almost all remaining hope for a two-state solution: Israel currently controls more than 60 percent of the Gaza Strip, a territory it has left largely in ruins after three years of military campaign; it has launched expanded incursions into southern Lebanon and Syrian territory under the pretense of targeting Hezbollah; and it has ramped up annexationist policies in the West Bank. In September 2024, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as de facto governor of the occupied West Bank, unveiled a plan to annex 82 percent of the territory to Israel, a move built on the principle of seizing “maximum land with minimum [Palestinian] population” that would eliminate any possibility of a sovereign Palestinian state.
“Israel’s actions over the past two years underline how, without much bolder action, the Israeli government will continue to simply ignore the words of condemnation from political leaders and governments and deepen its illegal occupation,” the letter reads. It notes that the ICJ has clearly established that all UN member states hold a legal obligation to recognize the illegality of Israel’s occupation and refrain from economic or trade activity that sustains it. Despite publicly acknowledging the court’s ruling, the letter argues, the British government has failed to take formal action to meet its binding legal and moral obligations. Drawing a contrast to the UK’s robust response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the politicians point out that London imposed widespread sanctions on Moscow for its violation of international law, but has refused to apply the same standard to Israel.
The signatories outline a clear set of concrete demands: ban all trade with unlawful Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, sanction companies that profit from the occupation, implement targeted individual sanctions against Israeli officials responsible for expanding the occupation, suspend the existing UK-Israel bilateral trade agreement, and end all arms transfers to Israel — including the supply of components for F-35 fighter jets.
Parallel to the politicians’ appeal, 17 major UK charities have also called on incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham to take immediate action to end what they describe as Israel’s atrocities against Palestinian people. The coalition includes prominent organizations such as Save the Children UK, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Islamic Relief, and Amnesty International UK, who warned that Palestinians cannot afford any further delay or political inaction on the matter.
In their statement, the charities delivered a scathing assessment of Starmer’s legacy on Palestine. “Despite a partial arms suspension in 2024, Keir Starmer’s government has continued to enable Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians, their families and children through the supply of F-35 fighter jet parts,” Save the Children UK said, adding that “History will remember your complicity.”
John McDonnell, a Labour MP and former shadow chancellor who signed the politicians’ letter, emphasized that the incoming prime minister faces a clear moral and legal duty to act. “The Netanyahu government clearly believes it can act with impunity as it destroys any hope of a two-state solution with its total annexation of the West Bank,” McDonnell told Middle East Eye. “The hope is that the incoming prime minister recognises that the UK government has a duty to act.”
Burnham, who is set to succeed Starmer in office next week, has already sought to distance himself from his predecessor’s approach, issuing a public apology for the Labour Party’s initial response to the conflict in Gaza. “I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right, and I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better,” he said. Burnham acknowledged the “unbearable suffering” in Gaza, describing it as a “scar on our collective conscience,” and has called for increased pressure on the Israeli government to end its expansion of occupation. He has praised the outgoing Starmer administration for its limited steps — including formal recognition of Palestinian statehood, sanctions on a small number of far-right Israeli ministers, and a ban on the supply of British-produced bombs and bullets to Israel — but admitted that the UK was far too slow to call for a permanent ceasefire, and that a more robust approach is now needed.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has also softened her rhetoric in recent weeks, acknowledging that Labour’s early response to the Gaza crisis was misaligned with humanitarian concerns. But aid groups warn that a shift in tone does not guarantee meaningful policy change.
Halla Keir, advocacy and research manager at Medical Aid for Palestinians, stressed that the urgency of the crisis leaves no room for further delay. “Every new prime minister inherits difficult decisions. But this should not be one of them,” Keir said. “Almost three years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the need for action could not be clearer. The UK’s obligations under international law are clear. What is needed now is the political courage to act.”
Save the Children UK echoed this call, noting that “Nothing can change the horrors Palestinians have faced. But the next prime minister has an opportunity to put an end to the UK government’s role as an ally to atrocities.”