In a sharply worded letter to Lammy the MPs accuse Israel’s defence minister of drawing up “an operational plan for crimes against humanity” by seeking to transfer the entire civilian population of Gaza to a fenced camp in the rubble-strewn city of Rafah
Nearly 60 Labour MPs have urged the UK government to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state “without delay”, warning that Israel’s latest plans for Gaza amount to “ethnic cleansing”.
In a sharply worded letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy the MPs accuse Israel’s defence minister of drawing up “an operational plan for crimes against humanity” by seeking to transfer the entire civilian population of Gaza to a fenced camp in the rubble-strewn city of Rafah.
The cross-party group, convened by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME), includes former ministers, select-committee chairs and high-profile backbenchers. Their intervention comes days after President Emmanuel Macron used a state visit to London to call for immediate Palestinian statehood as “the only path to peace”.
The MPs’ letter, delivered to the Foreign Office on Thursday, cites Monday’s announcement by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz that all Palestinians in Gaza would be relocated to a “humanitarian zone” in Rafah and barred from returning north. Katz described the operation as “temporary”, but gave no timetable for its reversal.
Michael Sfard, a leading Israeli human-rights lawyer, told that the proposal is “an operational plan for crimes against humanity… population transfer to the southern tip of Gaza in preparation for deportation outside the Strip”.
The Labour MPs go further, branding the scheme “the ethnic cleansing of Gaza”. They write: “It is with great urgency and concern that we urge the government to act before this forcible transfer begins. History will judge us harshly if we remain silent.”
The signatories set out five demands: Immediate UK recognition of the State of Palestine, a trade blockade on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, continued funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), concerted diplomacy to secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas, sanctions on Israeli officials deemed responsible for serious violations of international law.
While UNRWA support and hostage negotiations already form part of government policy, the call for unilateral recognition and settlement sanctions is likely to strain relations with Washington and Jerusalem.
The letter has been signed by 59 MPs, including LFPME co-chairs Sarah Owen (Luton North) and Andrew Pakes (Peterborough), as well as senior figures such as Liam Byrne, chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, often tipped for future ministerial office.
Other prominent names include Stella Creasy, Clive Lewis, Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler. Several parliamentary aides and junior ministers added their names to a private version of the letter last month, but this is the first time the full list has been made public.
A Foreign Office spokesperson reiterated the government’s existing position: “We are committed to recognising a Palestinian state and to doing so when it will have most impact in support of a peace process.”
The MPs’ appeal follows mounting international momentum. During last week’s state visit, President Macron stood beside Keir Starmer and declared: “Calling today for a ceasefire in Gaza without any condition is telling the rest of the world that for us as Europeans, there is no double standard… Working together in order to recognise the state of Palestine and to initiate this political momentum is the only path to peace.”
Asked whether the Prime Minister shared Macron’s timetable, Downing Street repeated that recognition would come “at a point of maximum impact”. Privately, aides say ministers fear that acting too soon could weaken leverage over both Israel and Hamas.
Backbenchers, however, insist the moral imperative has shifted. Sarah Owen said, “The images coming out of Rafah are unbearable. If we wait for the perfect moment, we risk becoming complicit in the forced displacement of two million people.”
Andrew Pakes added: “Recognition is not a gift to one side; it is an investment in a rules-based order. Without a credible Palestinian state, the cycle of violence will simply restart.”
The Labour leadership has promised to respond formally to the letter next week. Party insiders suggest that, while Starmer is unlikely to endorse immediate recognition, he may offer a firmer timetable and tighter settlement restrictions.
The issue has exposed divisions inside Labour’s broad church. Several centrist MPs declined to sign, arguing that unilateral recognition could undermine US-led diplomacy. One shadow minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned: “We must not give Hamas a veto over Palestinian statehood by rewarding violence.”
Yet for many on the party’s left, the horrors of Gaza have eclipsed such calculations. Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, said: “The UK recognised Israel within minutes of its declaration in 1948. Palestinians have waited 75 years. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
With Parliament set to return from recess next month, the debate over Palestine is poised to dominate the foreign-policy agenda—and test Sir Keir Starmer’s promise to pursue a values-based diplomacy after years of Brexit turmoil.
