Forced displacement of Gaza residents during an earlier phase of the conflict (photo: Jaber Jehad Badwan/Creative Commons Share Alike 4.0).

Local Lib Dems add to voices deploring situation in Gaza

Increasingly voices are being raised to protest the catastrophic circumstances into which the population of Gaza has been plunged by the weeks-long Israeli armed forces’ assault on Hamas. Local Liberal Democrats have issued a statement deploring the situation and urging MP Helena Dollimore to respond. Nick Terdre reports.

“Notwithstanding the horrendous actions of Hamas on October 7th, the disproportionate levels of intense and sustained retaliatory violence meted out to the 2.3m people of Gaza, 40% of whom are under 14 years of age, have moved us to make this latest statement on the war on Occupied Palestine,” the statement from local Liberal Democrats begins.

It refers to the high level of casualties, not least the number of children who have been killed, by the actions of the Israeli Defence Force since 7 October 2023. “The intensity and indiscriminate nature of this violence may be measured by Unicef’s March 2025 estimate that more than 15,000 children have been killed and 34,000 injured. Overall, it is estimated that more than 50,000 Palestinian men, women and children have been killed by Israeli forces, with many thousands more having sustained life-changing injuries.“

Collective punishment

Written just before the 11-week Israeli blockade of food and humanitarian aid into Gaza was lifted this week, the statement says: “The continued refusal to admit food, medical supplies and clean water will further hasten starvation, disease, trauma and civilian death. We condemn this use of collective punishment as a tool of Israeli policy, and urge PM Netanyahu’s government to return to the Phase Two ceasefire negotiations and pursue hostage release by diplomacy, which has thus far been the only effective means of achieving their freedom.”

While acknowledging that the blockade has been eased and some aid trucks allowed to enter Gaza, Guy Harris, who helped draft the statement, told HOT: “Though at time of writing Israel has allowed in approximately 130 trucks of aid for a population of over two million, it should be noted that Gaza was previously receiving 600 trucks per day of food, medicines and fuel. It would therefore appear that after an eleven week blockade, Israel is still placing military imperatives over humanitarian imperatives.”

The Lib Dems call for the rights of Palestinian children to be respected: “The children of Palestine deserve the same compassion, security and dignity that this country rightly and proudly ensured for the boys and girls of the Kindertransport: they are owed safe, healthy futures in a sovereign land.”

The policy of the Israeli government is condemned as unacceptable. “No civilised nation can stand idly by as innocents are exterminated in pursuit of extreme, ultra-nationalist ideology. It is increasingly clear that the current Israeli Government intends to render Gaza unlivable, and to starve Palestinians out of Palestine. This situation is even more intolerable given that these atrocious acts are perpetrated by a friend and ally.”

The statement points out that, “It is not antisemitic to oppose the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet. Indeed, it would be a dereliction of this country’s kinship with the people of Israel to allow it to continue.”

Meanwhile it backs action by international juridical bodies over the war crimes committed by both sides. “We should like to express our full support for the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) competency in the ongoing adjudications of war crimes carried out by Hamas and Israel, and urge the UK Government to fulfil its legal obligations, including, if necessary, the execution of International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants of arrest for Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes for Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister, Israel) and Yoav Gallant (Former Minister of Defence, Israel).

Recognition of Palestinian state

“Additionally, we restate our support for recognition of an independent, sovereign Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders, and urge Sir Keir Starmer and Helena Dollimore MP to take note of the growing public outrage with respect to the scale of agonies inflicted upon innocent Palestinian civilians in contravention of humanitarian and international law.”

Arms sales to Israel should be suspended in accordance with relevant legislation, including the UK’s strategic export licensing criteria, the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty, Genocide Convention and the Geneva Convention. “We ask for confirmation that this government has suspended all relevant licences for the Israeli military that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, placing UK Ministers in violation of domestic and international law.“

It warns that the “Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary’s prevarication is perilously close to being construed as acquiescence in what former Israeli Government peace negotiator, Daniel Levy, Amnesty International, the UN Special Rapporteur, and other experts, now describe as ‘Genocide’”, and concludes that, “A continued failure by the Government to speak unequivocally or to act will be viewed by history as shameful complicity.”

The statement has been sent to to MP Helena Dollimore with a request that she acknowledge it and confirm her personal position. At time of press no response had been received.

The full text of the statement can be read on the local party’s website.

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