Ending the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank

We can’t turn a blind eye to the devastation across the Occupied Territories if we want to achieve a permanent peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

When the ceasefire in Gaza came into force on 19 January, we all felt an enormous sense of relief - and hope - at the prospect that this horrendous conflict might come to an end, enabling the alleviation of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the release of all the hostages. 

But since the resumption of Netanyahu’s military campaign in Gaza, the suffering of Palestinians’ in the Strip has reached new extremes. We’ve been collectively appalled at the abhorrent aid blockade - with food being used as a weapon of war - and the reports of indiscriminate attacks against Gazans seeking life-saving supplies.

That’s why it’s Liberal Democrats who have been the leading party in Parliament pushing the Government to apply more and genuine pressure to Netanyahu’s Cabinet. 

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 16 July, Ed Davey condemned Netanyahu’s plan to create a guarded compound for all Gazans near Rafah. He called on Keir Starmer to sanction Netanyahu for this plan for ethnic cleansing.

Liberal Democrats want to see a ceasefire agreed immediately. That’s the only way to move towards a permanent peace which provides dignity for Palestinians and Israelis. But we can only get there by drawing power away from the extremes, and empowering moderates in both societies.

We were pleased, then, that the Government finally moved to sanction the far-right extremist Israeli Ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich - who have long advocated for the forced dispossession of Palestinians. This was a full 15 months after Ed Davey called for this step to be taken - the first major party leader to do so.  

And Lib Dems have consistently led the way in pressing the Government to do more, including: 

• Ed Davey using the first Prime Ministerial statement after the 2024 General Election to call on Keir Starmer to uphold the ICJ’s ruling on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories as illegal.
   
• We were the first major UK wide party to call for a full ban on all military exports to Israel.
   
• We are also the leading party in Parliament campaigning for the immediate recognition of Palestine as a state - in June, all 72 Lib Dem MPs wrote to David Lammy calling on the Government to finally enact this. 

As part of that effort, we must also never forget that the Hamas terrorists continue to hold up to 50 Israelis hostage in the tunnels under Gaza, following their barbaric attack on Israel on October 7th. The hostages have been held now for over 650 days, and have been subject to the cruelty and brutality of their captors.

A number of our MPs and Peers listened to the testimony provided by Aviva and Keith Siegel - two of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. Their experiences - and bravery in retelling their stories - should impress upon the UK Government the importance of committing every diplomatic lever at its disposal to apply pressure to Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Image:  Jaber Jehad Badwan