Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Friday 8th December 2023

We support Israel’s right to self-defence, complying with international humanitarian law. We continue to push for a long-term political solution for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

We support Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself against Hamas’ terrorist attacks. On 7 October, Israel suffered an appalling and unprecedented attack, and we are right to support them as they try and deal with the Hamas terrorist threat.

We are also clear that Israel must abide by international humanitarian law. The Foreign Secretary emphasised this to the Israeli President during his recent visit, and again in his speech at the Aspen Security Forum on 7 December, where he also stressed the importance of reducing civilian casualties. The UK will maintain a continuous dialogue with Israel and keep stressing the critical importance of humanitarian law. It is vital that all parties ensure their actions are proportionate, necessary and minimise harm to civilians.

We recognise that Palestinian civilians are experiencing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis; alleviating the suffering is a top UK priority. On 24 November, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £30 million of humanitarian assistance to the region, bringing the total to £60 million. To date the UK has also delivered 74 tonnes of aid, but there is still more to do to ensure greater volumes of food, fuel and other life-saving aid can reach Gaza on a sustained basis. We continue to press – both at the UN and directly with Israel – for unhindered humanitarian access and substantive, repeated humanitarian pauses that allow aid to enter.

To prevent further conflict and terrorism, there must be a long-term political solution; a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. We agree with the US that Gaza should ultimately be under Palestinian control and that the Palestinian Authority has an important long-term role to play, as the PM has discussed on several occasions with President Abbas. As the Foreign Secretary said on 7 December, we must work with our allies to build up the Palestinian Authority, so that we can see a move towards a peaceful Palestinian leadership as soon as is practicable.

We are also urging Israel to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank. The UK has also made it clear that settler violence and the targeting of Palestinian civilians is completely unacceptable. As the Prime Minister said to PM Netanyahu when they spoke on 5 December, the Israeli government must take meaningful steps to tackle this issue.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office