The petition of residents of the United Kingdom
Declares that there is a genocide taking place in Palestine.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to immediately cut off all military and economic relations with Israel.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Rachael Maskell, Official Report, 22 July 2025; Vol. 771, c. 811.]
[P003105]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer):
Since coming to power in July 2024, this Government have worked to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages held by Hamas, the unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza to tackle the escalating humanitarian crisis, and the restoration of a path to long-term peace and stability in the middle east.
Over the past 15 months, we have taken decisive action in support of these goals, including restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, providing nearly £250 million in development assistance, co-ordinating international efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and evacuating groups of sick and injured children to receive medical treatment in the UK. We suspended negotiations on a new trade deal with Israel, suspended the export of arms and military equipment that could be used in Gaza, and imposed three rounds of sanctions on violent Israeli settlers and members of the Israeli Cabinet. And, after signing a landmark agreement with the Palestinian Authority to support their ambitious reform agenda, we took the historic step last month of formally recognising a Palestinian state, with no future role for Hamas, to protect the viability of a two-state solution and create a path towards a just and lasting peace, with security for the Israeli and Palestinian people alike.
We are now working tirelessly with our partners across the world to build support and momentum for the US peace initiative, which offers the quickest and most effective path to achieving the goals that we have been working towards over the past year. There is a long way still to go, but at this time we believe the efforts of all Governments should be focused on supporting that effort to stop the bloodshed, release the hostages, end the humanitarian crisis and restore a framework for peace. We fully understand the strength of feeling on this issue among the petitioners, but if their ultimate goal is to see an end to the war and humanitarian suffering in Gaza, then we hope they will in turn accept our sincerely held view that the quickest and most effective way to pursue that goal is through the current peace initiative, based on the months of groundwork that the UK has done alongside our international partners to give that initiative the best chance of success. We will not rest until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, the hostages are returned and a flood of aid reaches those in desperate need.