More than 80 MPs and peers are calling on the prime minister Andy Burnham to end Britain’s complicity in genocide. In a letter to the new PM, they have demanded that the UK decisively changes its stance on Gaza in order to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people and to prevent Israel’s continued violations of international law.
The parliamentarians, who include representatives from across both houses, want the government to recognise the UN’s findings on genocide and implement the International Court of Justice ruling in full, impose sanctions on Israel including a full arms embargo and ban all trade that supports Israel’s illegal settlements.
Last month, the UN independent commission of inquiry report confirmed Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. The report detailed evidence of how Israel’s genocide is deliberately targeting children as part of a “deliberate strategy to destroy the future of the Palestinians in Gaza”. The previous Starmer administration wilfully ignored the rulings of international courts and did virtually nothing to condemn the murderous Israeli regime.
Andy Burnham is now coming under pressure to distance himself from this horrendous record. Before he was sworn in as prime minister, he apologised specifically to those “who might feel. . . my party didn’t get it right” on Israel and Gaza. But surrounded by ‘friends of Israel’ and ex-lobbyists for arms companies in his parliamentary party in Westminster, will Burnham really change tack? Surely it’s high time for Labour to start listening to the millions of people in Britain who want the government to take real action against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Writing for The New Arab, Dan Iley-Williamson, political organiser at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “When asked if he believes Israel has committed genocide, Andy Burnham reverted to Starmer’s line, that it is for international courts to decide. This is not nearly good enough.
“Far from waiting years for international courts to issue rulings, the Genocide Convention is clear. Signatories – such as Britain – must take action to prevent genocide as soon as they become aware there is a serious risk of it. No one can doubt this threshold was crossed long ago. Starmer sided with genocide and barbarism – and voters punished him. The new prime minister shouldn’t make the same mistake.”
In their letter, MPs and peers said that now is the opportunity for the new government and for Burnham as the new prime minister to truly turn a new page on Gaza by implementing the following measures.
- Recognising the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry that Israel is committing genocide and commit to implementing the July 2024 ICJ ruling in full.
- Taking all reasonable steps to prevent or mitigate the risk of genocide in Gaza, starting by imposing comprehensive sanctions on Israel, including a full arms embargo.
- Banning all trade in goods and services with Israel’s illegal settlements, and all other trade that aids or assists Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Burnham may have tried to distance himself from the previous administration’s disgraceful record on Gaza but he needs to do way more and go further than mere optics and soundbites. He has a clear choice. He can bow to the pressure from the pro-Israel lobby inside and outside his own party, or he can listen to the millions who have demonstrated on the streets, the majority of Labour members and the many more voters across the country.
And that means nothing less than a meaningful break with the British state’s longstanding policy of deliberately continuing the Palestinian people’s suffering.
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