UK lawmakers urge Foreign Secretary Lammy to recognise Palestinian state

Letter demands that London enactment present to halt ‘erasure and annexation’ of Palestinian onshore earlier it’s excessively late.

Nearly 60 lawmakers successful the United Kingdom person written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week, calling retired Israel’s plans for the “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza and demanding the state instantly recognise Palestine arsenic a state.

The 59 lawmakers, each from the governing Labour Party, criticised Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s plans to unit Gaza’s 2.1 cardinal Palestinians into a alleged “humanitarian city” – likened by immoderate analysts to a attraction campy – built connected the ruins of Rafah.

The letter, sent to Lammy connected Thursday and made nationalist connected Saturday, cited Israeli quality rights lawyer Michael Sfard arsenic saying Palestinians were being pushed to the confederate extremity of Gaza “in mentation for deportation extracurricular the strip”, slamming the determination arsenic “ethnic cleansing”.

They urged the overseas caput to halt Israel’s “operational program for crimes against humanity”. It besides called connected London to travel the pb of French President Emmanuel Macron, who precocious announced an intent to recognise a Palestinian state, truthful arsenic not to undermine its ain argumentation successful enactment of a two-state solution.

Dozens of Labour MPs person signed missive calling connected @FCDOGovUK Secretary David Lammy to instrumentality factual enactment connected #Gaza including contiguous designation of #Palestine

Here it is successful full, though much MPs signing up by the infinitesimal

Thanks @LFPME for coordinating, authorities indispensable heed pic.twitter.com/fOxiylKKVi

— Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) July 12, 2025

Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego said Macron had fixed calls to formally recognise Palestine arsenic a authorities “extra heft” during his three-day authorities sojourn to the UK this week.

In an code connected Tuesday to the UK’s Parliament, helium had said the determination was a substance of “absolute urgency” and the “only way to peace”, calling connected the state to assistance make the “political momentum” for a two-state solution.

Gallego pointed retired that Lammy had connected Tuesday criticised the arguable US-backed GHF sites astatine Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

“It’s not doing a bully job. Too galore radical are close to starvation. Too galore radical person mislaid their lives,” Lammy had said.

Three retired of the enclave’s 4 GHF sites, which person sidelined Gaza’s immense UN-led assistance transportation network, are located successful confederate Gaza, efficaciously forcing starving Palestinians towards Israel’s caller “humanitarian city” successful Rafah.

On Friday, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that 819 Palestinians person been killed portion waiting for nutrient – 634 successful the vicinity of GHF sites, which person been operational since precocious May. On Saturday, 34 much were killed adjacent a GHF tract successful Rafah.

Lammy had besides said that the UK could instrumentality further enactment against Israel if a ceasefire woody to extremity the warfare successful the Palestinian territory does not materialise. But helium stressed that London wants to recognise Palestine arsenic portion of a factual determination towards the two-state solution, not conscionable arsenic a symbolic gesture.

The lawmakers welcomed the Labour government’s calls for a ceasefire, its suspension of arms licenses to Israel, and its sanctioning of hardline Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, but said the “desperation and seriousness” of the concern successful Gaza required much action.

“We cannot permission actions successful our backmost pouch portion the concern facing Palestinian civilians reaches captious and existential levels,” said the letter, which was organised by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, co-chaired by lawmakers Sarah Owen and Andrew Pakes.

“By not recognising [Palestine] arsenic a state, we … acceptable an anticipation that the presumption quo tin proceed and spot the effectual erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory,” it added.

The Times of Israel reported this week that an planetary league aiming to resuscitate the two-state solution was postponed to July 28-29 aft plans to clasp it past period were derailed by the 12-day Iran-Israel war.