The October 7th attack by Hamas was shocking, horrific and unjustifiable. We condemned their actions immediately and without equivocation.

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The situation in Gaza is beyond words. The levels of death and destruction has been intolerable, with almost 40,000 Palestinians killed and almost 100,000 injured, particularly women and children.

 

Children are starving, the healthcare system is being dismantled, and aid is being blocked. 70% of civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, hospitals, and places of worship have been destroyed.

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Since October, LFPME’s position has been clear and unchanged. We have consistently called for:

• Immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

• Immediate ceasefire respected by all parties.

• Removal of all restrictions on humanitarian access and aid.

• Proactive upholding of international law, including independent investigation and accountability for alleged breaches.

• Renewed international efforts to achieve a two-state solution.

 

As the situation has developed in recent months, we have also called for:

• Immediate restoration of funding to UNRWA.

• Respect and support for institutions like the ICC and ICJ, with full implementation of their rulings and orders.

• Suspension of arms transfers to Israel.

• A comprehensive plan for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and getting worse. Essential services are beyond strained, famine has taken hold, and aid is not getting in at the scale required to avert absolute catastrophe.

 

The people of Gaza need aid, food, water, fuel, shelter, and medicine in huge volumes. This can only happen with the reopening of all avenues for aid, including land crossings, and with UNRWA at the heart of that operation. Labour have said they will renew UNRWA funding.

Labour’s support for international law and the international rules-based order is unwavering. The international courts that the UK helped establish must be allowed to do their job. All breaches of international law by all actors must be investigated and held to account.

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The ICJ ruled that South Africa has brought a plausible case that the people of Palestine have a right to be protected from genocide and that these rights were at real risk of irreparable damage. The ICJ has issued several provisional measures as a result.

 

Labour immediately called for Israel to comply with those binding measures in full.

We have been clear that demolitions, settlements and settler violence must stop. Such activity is in breach of international law and fundamentally erodes the prospects for a contiguous and viable Palestinian state. The spread of settlement activity is nothing short of deliberate de jure annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank.

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For over a decade, LFPME has called for effective differentiation between green line Israel and its settlements in the West Bank. This includes a targeted restriction on settlement goods entering the UK and trade with illegal settlements.

 

Labour has supported sanctions on violent Israeli settlers and organisations and has been pushing for travel bans on them to prevent them entering the UK.

LFPME’s longstanding position is for immediate recognition of the State of Palestine by the UK Government, bringing the UK in line with 145 countries around the world -most recently joined by Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia.  

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Labour has been committed to the recognition of the state of Palestine for over a decade, and in 2014 Labour led the successful vote in parliament for state recognition. The right to self-determination and statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and cannot be prevented or vetoed by any neighbour. It is a right to be realised, not a gift to be given.

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Labour has included in its manifesto a commitment to recognition of a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution.

The Labour position – and that of the international community – is consistent and longstanding. The only viable pathway is for there to be a two-state solution based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, and Jerusalem as the shared capital.

 

That can only come with a reinvigorated international and political effort to achieve peace, security and prosperity for two independent and viable states.

LFPME have been calling for an end to this practice and for respect of children’s rights. Since 1967, Palestinian children from the West Bank have been living under Israeli military law. They are the only children in the world who are systematically prosecuted in military courts.

 

This has a profoundly detrimental impact on so many aspects of the lives of Palestinian children, as has been set out by multiple NGOs and charities.

 

Labour have called on the government to address the consequences of ongoing occupation on daily life for Palestinians in the West Bank, including children in military detention.

LFPME has consistently called for a suspension of arms transfers to Israel during the current crisis.

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Under both international and domestic law, the UK is required to suspend arms transfers if there is even a small risk that UK-supplied arms or components are being used in acts incompliant with international humanitarian law.

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If elected, Labour will unequivocally commit to complying with international law, including strictly applying the licensing criteria on arms exports.

Labour opposed this Tory-led Bill that sought to penalise UK public bodies for making investment and procurement decisions based on ethical considerations.

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Labour believe the Bill undermines support for a two state solution at a time when that is more important than ever. We do not believe the Bill is consistent with our obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and international law.