David Lammy is due to call for an immediate ceasefire during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his first visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as foreign minister.
Lammy said he would push for the release of all hostages and an increase in aid to Gaza, announcing a new £5.5m humanitarian and medical assistance package.
Echoing calls for a ceasefire made by Keir Starmer to Israeli and Palestinian leaders as he entered 10 Downing Street, Lammy said the UK wanted to play a “full diplomatic role” in bringing a lasting end to the conflict.
Labour has been heavily criticised for its early response to the conflict, following the 7 October Hamas attacks in Israel, which led to a significant loss of votes in some areas with high numbers of Muslim voters, including the election of four pro-Gaza independent candidates in constituencies targeted by the party.
Lammy will also address the issue of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank during his meeting with Netanyahu. He will also meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The British aid will go to UK-Med, a frontline medical aid charity that has many NHS doctors in the region supporting Gaza field hospitals and the emergency department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
“The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable,” Mr Lammy said ahead of his visit. “This war must end immediately, with an immediate ceasefire respected by both sides. The fighting must stop, the hostages still cruelly held by Hamas terrorists must be released immediately, and aid must be allowed to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions.”
He said the UK’s ambition and commitment was to play a role in securing a ceasefire agreement and a new path to a two-state solution. “The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state,” Mr Lammy said.
“It is essential that we end the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and the rise in settler violence in the West Bank. Here, in what should be a crucial part of a Palestinian state, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem, we need to see a reformed and strengthened Palestinian Authority.”
In Israel, Lammy will also meet the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, and families with links to the UK whose relatives are still being held hostage in Gaza or have been murdered by Hamas. The Foreign Secretary will say that more than 680 tonnes of British aid is waiting to enter Gaza, including medicines, shelter and hygiene kits – and the Foreign Office has said it will push for a rapid increase in aid allowed into the territory.
The British government has not yet said that the UK would unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. Mr Lammy said he would recognise recognition of a Palestinian state as an “undeniable right of the Palestinian people”. He added that the UK would recognise such a state as part of a renewed peace process and would condemn settlements in the West Bank, which he considers illegal and harmful.
