The government must comply with its legal obligations to prevent and punish genocide. There is a wide range of actions they should be taking to do this. They include:

• Ending all arms sales to Israel.
• Actively supporting international justice mechanisms like the ICC and ICJ.
• Imposing trade sanctions against Israel.
• Imposing targeted sanctions against Israeli politicians.
• Recognising a Palestinian state.
• Banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
• Issuing unambiguous public condemnations recognising violations of international law.
• Calling a genocide a genocide.
• Expelling Israeli diplomats who have cheered genocide on.

I cautiously welcomed the ceasefire enacted on 19th January 2025, intended to bring the fighting to an end in three main phases. During the first six-week phase of this ceasefire deal, we did see the release of a wave of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. However, at least 140 people were killed in Gaza during the time the ceasefire was supposedly in place. We also saw Israel blockading aid to Gaza and cutting off electricity, once again attempting to deny Palestinians the basic necessities of survival. In another worrying turn of events, Israel sent tanks and troops into the West Bank, where almost 1,000 Palestinians have now been killed since October 7th.

This period of reduced hostilities was shattered overnight on Tuesday 18th March by a series of airstrikes that killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians—183 children and 94 women among them. It has been clear for a long time that calling for a ceasefire alone is not sufficient to prevent the continuation of this genocidal war. At this crucial juncture, we need to see our government taking decisive action to put pressure on Israel to stop.

Put simply, we need to see our government ending all arms sales to Israel (not just some), taking a clear line on the illegality of Israel’s actions and implementing sanctions for the widespread human rights abuses seen during this war. It is also absolutely vital that the government complies with its international legal obligations and helps to ensure that all those who are guilty of war crimes can be brought to justice. I will continue to urge the UK government to do all of these things and do everything in its power to end the ongoing slaughter in Gaza and the West Bank.

I am appalled by the killings witnessed in Israel, Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. I utterly condemn Hamas’ kidnap and murder of innocent Israeli civilians. I was alarmed to hear reports of the use of sexual violence in these attacks. We must do everything to secure the safe return of these hostages and bring those accountable to justice. I am very alarmed by the reports of war crimes since the 7th October and support calls for these to be investigated. 

All nations have the right to respond to acts of terror. All nations also have a duty to prevent the commission of war crimes in so doing. I condemn the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and the scale of the subsequent offensive, which has resulted in an alarming number of civilian deaths.

The Israeli Government’s decision to cut off energy, water and food to the entire civilian population, repeated orders for millions of people to leave their homes, and the routine bombardment of civilian personnel and infrastructure represent collective punishment which is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. 

UK recognition for a Palestinian state shouldn’t be dangled as a prize at the end of a peace process; it should be unconditional because it is the right thing to do. Treating Palestine and Israel as equal partners is a prerequisite for any just and lasting settlement. The UK government won’t be part of the solution until it recognises this. Labour’s 2024 manifesto committed us to “recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process”. I will push the government to follow through on this.

I have long raised concerns about the UK government’s role in supplying military hardware to Israel, which may have been used against civilians in Gaza and potentially even against British citizens. I have signed EDM #177, calling on the government to halt arms sales to Israel and I also echoed these calls during a Westminster Hall debate on the 12^th December 2023. 

In February 2024, I joined more than 200 elected representatives to call for an immediate embargo on arms sales to Israel. The ICJ ruling means this is now not just a moral necessity now but a legal one. I was a signatory on Zarah Sultana’s letter urging the government to suspend arms sales in March 2024 and a principle sponsor on her King’s Speech amendment in July 2024 to end arms sales and uphold international law.

It seems increasingly clear that exporting military hardware made in Britain to be used in the mass slaughter of Palestinians and civilians from elsewhere is not just immoral but clearly illegal. It puts us firmly on the wrong side of international law.

In October 2024, the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) passed two bills banning Israeli officials from engaging with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) and preventing the organisation from working in Israeli territory and East Jerusalem. This legislation came into force on the January 31st 2025 and was followed soon after by a near-total Israeli blockade of food, medicine and fuel. This effectively brought UNRWA’s operations to a halt and created conditions of abject famine for the millions trapped in ever-smaller areas of Gaza by constant Israeli bombardment.

UNRWA was the one agency with the infrastructure and expertise to supply aid across Gaza. Israel’s decision to dismantle it, along with its efforts to destroy Gaza’s hospitals, schools, and homes, signals clear intent to make conditions unlivable in the area. It deprives returning Palestinians of access to education, healthcare and other basic services.

The blockade of essential aid was bad but it gets worse. On the 26^th of May, the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (hereafter referred to as GHF), opened new distribution hubs in Rafah. Since then, barely a day has passed without news of Israeli forces opening fire on starving Palestinians. Over a thousand people have died.

The GHF successfully hijacked Gaza’s aid network and turned it into another weapon to carry out its genocide without any real repercussions from the international community. As long as Israel wields control over the supply of Gaza’s food, medicine and water, more Palestinians will die in this way. Our government must push for an independent UN inquiry into the aid site killings and put concrete pressure on Israel to reinstate UNRWA.

Israel and Trump’s decision to instigate a war with Iran represents a dangerous new phase in the current cycle of conflict. Its justification is reminiscent of Iraq but without the pretence of a fabricated report. It is common knowledge that whilst Iran does not currently have a nuclear weapons programme, Israel does have nuclear weapons. We need to be clear that Netanyahu has been emboldened by the support and impunity he has enjoyed whilst carrying out a genocide in Gaza. The IDF is now engaged in military operations in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. This is not about defence, it’s about domination.

In the aftermath of Israel’s strikes against Iran, UK military aircraft were deployed to the Middle East, IDF troops were still training on UK soil and UK arms sales to Israel continued. Bolstering Israel’s military in this way completely undermined any calls for de-escalation. Under no circumstances should UK troops or taxpayer money be used to support a state that is carrying out a genocide and actively seeking a war which risks further destabilising the Middle East.

I have been concerned by the heavy-handed policing response to overwhelmingly peaceful protests which have majority support from the public. The mass arrest of people protesting the Gaza genocide in January 2025 (including democratically elected representatives) was an outrageous infringement of our rights to free speech and free assembly. The ceasefire protests of the last fifteen months have been overwhelmingly peaceful, diverse, and well-attended. Those in attendance are many of the same people rightly celebrated across our society for standing up to the far right during last summer’s riots. I believe these repressive police actions highlight the pressing need for the repeal of anti-protest legislation designed to silence those seeking to highlight social injustices. 

Please see my statement on the Palestine Action proscription vote.

Amid the appalling civilian casualty count, it is incredibly distressing to see the high numbers of aid workers, health providers, and journalists who have lost their lives since October. In what has been the deadliest war for aid workers in the history of the UN, at least 224 aid workers have lost their lives. Gaza’s Ministry of Health has recorded the deaths of at least 484 health workers and its Media Office has stated that 140 journalists and media workers have been killed.

When three UK aid workers from World Kitchen Central were killed in cold blood on the 1^st April 2024, UK political leaders refused to even call for a proper independent investigation into their deaths, never mind suspend arms sales to the forces that killed them. It is disgraceful that the last government put Israel’s war above the lives of British citizens. There should be a full independent investigation into these deaths. 

On the 20th May 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed applications for warrants of arrest for senior leaders in Hamas and Israel. This is an important legal case, which offers the possibility of breaking through what Human Rights Watch has called “the wall of impunity” that Israel has long hidden behind.

The previous Conservative government lodged an objection to this case at the time, taking their lead from the Biden Administration. I opposed this attempt to thwart the judicial process at the time and signed EDM (Early Day Motion) 14 when the new Labour government came in. This urged the government to reverse this position, which it thankfully did on the 26th July.

One of the most important tools we have for preventing civilian deaths is ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice. If Benjamin Netanyahu or Yoav Gallant come to Britain, it’s absolutely essential that we comply with our treaty obligations and turn them over to face justice.

On the 29th December 2023, South Africa made a submission to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) to declare Israel in breach of its obligations to the 1948 Genocide Convention, alleging that “acts and omissions by Israel” in Gaza “are genocidal in character” and have been committed with “the requisite specific intent” to “destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and [ethnic] group”. South Africa asked the ICJ to issue Provisional Measures and order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza”. 

On the 26th January 2024, the ICJ ruled in favour of South Africa, ordering Israel to take steps to prevent and punish any incitement of genocide in Gaza and to allow humanitarian aid into the territory. Israel was also obligated to report back to the court in one month on the actions it was taking to this effect. I welcomed the ICJ ruling on this issue but like others, I was dismayed that the judgement fell short of calling for a ceasefire. In my view, the only way to prevent genocide in the region was for Israel’s allies, most notably the US, to press for an immediate ceasefire.

I am concerned to hear reports of rising levels of Islamophobia and Antisemitism in the UK, and around the world. No one deserves to face hate or prejudice because of their religious beliefs and minority groups should not be targeted because of international conflict. Anyone who has suffered or witnessed Antisemitism is encouraged to contact the Community Security Trust. Anyone who has suffered or witnessed Islamophobia is encouraged to contact Tell Mama UK. These two organisations are involved in mapping hate crimes. 

The last government’s response to the plight of Palestinian refugees driven from Gaza was typical of their punitive approach to people seeking safe passage in our country. I found this out for myself when my constituent attempted to apply for family members to join him in February 2024. They were rejected because they could not provide the biometric data that the Home Office requires. By asking Palestinian refugees to apply in Ramallah, Jerusalem, or in a nearby country, the last government effectively told people they would have to travel through an active warzone to submit information. 

Refugees with relatives in the UK are trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare: they cannot enrol their biometrics because they cannot leave Gaza and they cannot leave Gaza because they cannot enrol their biometrics.

When millions were displaced by Russia’s appalling invasion of Ukraine in 2021, the last government rightly had the Homes for Ukraine Scheme live in a matter of weeks. Yet they have refused to create a similar pathway for Palestinians with relatives already living in the UK. The Home Office has rejected every request from Palestinian refugees for biometric deferral and predetermination since the 7th October. Yet between 15th March 2022 and 7th December 2023, Ukrainian nationals could apply online without the need to do this until after reaching safety in the UK.

It is important to state clearly that the one thing Palestinians want more than anything is a safe return to their homes, as is their human right. Sadly, the inordinate civilian death toll in this conflict means that many Palestinians simply will not be alive to exercise this right. In the debate on this issue on the 13th May 2024, I made my views on this very clear, calling once again for a ceasefire, an arms embargo against Israel, and the creation of a Palestinian family reunion scheme.

As well as failing to push for a ceasefire, the last government did not do enough to help people leave the warzone. During the first few weeks of the conflict, I was contacted by constituents trapped in the occupied West Bank and unable to leave. I have also been contacted by at least one constituent whose relatives were unable to flee Gaza because there is nowhere for them to submit the biometric data our government requires of them. I’ve been glad to see families challenging this decision in the courts and winning. 

If you are a constituent and require assistance with leaving the territory or with family reunion, please reach out to my office at bell.ribeiroaddy.mp@parliament.uk.