UK lawmakers demand widespread sanctions on Israel over Gaza

British MPs and Lords have urged the Labour government to impose comprehensive sanctions on Israel over its alleged breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL), particularly its ongoing military assault on Gaza.

On Friday, over 80 parliamentarians and members of the House of Lords issued an open letter addressed to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy - released to coincide with the first anniversary of a landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that declared Israel's presence in occupied Palestinian territories "unlawful" and called for it to end "as rapidly as possible".

Organised by Labour MPs Imran Hussein and Richard Burgon, the letter also demanded that the government implement a range of measures against Israel to ensure accountability and compliance with international law.  

These include suspending the UK-Israel trade agreement until Israel abides by its legal obligations, banning the trade in goods and services linked to illegal Israeli settlements, and imposing targeted sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes on individuals and entities involved in the occupation.  

They are also calling for a halt to all arms transfers to Israel - particularly components for F-35 fighter jets - that could be used in breach of IHL.  

Additionally, the group is demanding a full review of UK-Israel relations to ensure that no aspect of UK policy contributes to or supports ongoing violations. 

The letter argued that the "UK government has rightly imposed widespread sanctions on Russian for its illegal war on Ukraine".

"Yet it has failed to act on anything close to the same scale in response to Israel's actions on Gaza," it continued.

Co-organiser of the letter Richard Burgon intensified his call for sanctions against Israel during his address at Saturday’s national march for Gaza in London, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). 

Following his appearance, the MP for Leeds East told The New Arab that Saturday’s rally, in which an estimated 80,000 people marched through the pouring rain in the British capital, signalled public support for UK sanctions against Israel. 

"This large demonstration reflects widespread public support for the government to take much more decisive action. Polls show people want an end to arms sales and they want economic sanctions on Israel," Burgon told TNA. 

"People want the Government to go beyond issuing weak statements pleading with Israel to do the right thing. They want the Government to take action to make it stop."

Burgon further argued that the one-year anniversary of the ICJ ruling signifies an opportunity for Britain to take urgent action, amid growing backlash over the government’s alleged complicity in Israel’s conduct in Gaza. 

"That is why, this week, I organised 84 parliamentarians from nine different parties in writing it the Foreign Secretary demanding action: Action to end arms sales. To end trade with the illegal settlements," he said. 

"The government acknowledges that settlements are illegal- so why does it permit trade with them? And demanding that the Government imposes economic sanctions on Israel, as clearly required by the ICJ ruling."

He added: "Concretely, this means suspending the UK-Israel Trade Agreement until Israel complies with international law."

Despite the UK government's suspension of 29 arms export licences to Israel last year, these measures do not constitute comprehensive sanctions or an arms embargo.  

The suspensions do not cover equipment exported under the remaining 300 arms licences, which the government has assessed as not being directly linked to military use in Gaza.  

These include aircraft for training purposes and various forms of naval equipment.  

As previously reported by The New Arab, the UK government also created a legal loophole that allows UK-built components to continue being used in Israel’s F-35 fighter jets, which play a central role in its ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza. 

A day before the release of the open letter signed by UK MPs and Lords, 16 non-governmental organisations also urged the UK government to uphold its international legal obligations, one year after the World Court’s advisory opinion on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.  

The NGOs - including Campaign Against Arms Trade and Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) - called on the UK, as a UN member state, to refrain from supporting Israel’s occupation and to ensure that its trade and investment policies do not contribute to or legitimise it.