On first visit to Israel as Foreign Secretary, David Lammy should challenge Israeli government over war crimes in Gaza, illegal settlements and wider apartheid system

Foreign Secretary should make clear that UK arms can no longer flow to Israel

‘This trip is an early test of its commitment to international law for the UK government’ - Sacha Deshmukh

Commenting on the Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian West Bank today, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:

“This is an opportunity for the new Government to show that its loud words on championing the rule of law around the world are backed up by hard actions.

“It is welcome and necessary to see the new Foreign Secretary calling for a ceasefire and the release of civilian hostages in Gaza, both of which are essential.

“But David Lammy must also be prepared to tell the Israeli government that the UK will no longer enable, or even just ignore, Israeli war crimes, its illegal West Bank settlements or indeed Israel’s wider system of apartheid against the Palestinian people.

“This new Government needs to be strong and unequivocal in its application of international law, and Mr Lammy should be making clear that the UK will fully support the ICC and that UK arms can no longer flow to Israel after the succession of well-documented war crimes by Israeli forces in Gaza.

“This trip is an early test of its commitment to international law for the UK government - is it prepared to adopt a principled, even-handed approach to the rule of law and tackle Israel over its human rights violations, or will it continue a longstanding UK double standard in failing to ensure Israel faces concrete consequences for repeated breaches of international law?”

UNRWA funding, arms transfers and international justice

Amnesty has called for the perpetrators of the 7 October attacks in Israel and ongoing hostage-taking in Gaza to be brought to justice. Since 7 October, Israeli military forces have conducted numerous attacks on civilian targets in Gaza, as well as highly indiscriminate attacks which have killed thousands of Palestinian civilians. The Israeli authorities have also obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance, and cut off electricity and other essential services in an unlawful act of collective punishment against Gaza’s entire civilian population.

Amnesty has called on the UK to fully support ongoing legal processes on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, including by withdrawing a challenge to the ICC’s Palestine investigation which the last UK government said it would submit to The Hague court this month. Amnesty also wishes to see the UK prioritising the restoration of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency which the UK suspended in January, as well as suspending all arms transfers to Israel in light of the clear risk that UK weapons and military equipment could be used by Israel to commit war crimes in Gaza and elsewhere.