David Lammy is to call for an immediate ceasefire during talks with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his first visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as foreign secretary.
Lammy said he would push for the release of all hostages as well as an increase in aid into Gaza, announcing a new £5.5m humanitarian and medical assistance package.
Echoing the calls for a ceasefire made by Keir Starmer to both Israeli and Palestinian leaders upon entering No 10, Lammy said the UK wanted to play a “full diplomatic role” in bringing about a lasting end to the conflict.
Labour came in for heavy criticism for its early response to the conflict in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks by Hamas inside Israel that 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 seats targeted by the party.
Lammy will also raise the issue of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank when he meets Netanyahu. Lammy is to meet the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, as well. The British aid package will go to UK-Med, a frontline medical aid charity that includes many NHS medics who are in the region to support field hospitals in Gaza and the emergency department at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
“The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable,” Lammy said, before the visit. “This war must end now, with an immediate ceasefire, complied with by both sides. The fighting has got to stop, the hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists need to be released immediately and aid must be allowed in to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions.”
He said it was the UK’s “ambition and commitment” to play a role in securing a ceasefire deal and a renewed path towards a two-state solution. “The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state,” Lammy said.
“Central to this is to see an end to expanding illegal Israeli settlements and rising 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 empowered Palestinian Authority.”
In Israel, Lammy will also meet the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, and families with links to the UK whose relatives still being held hostage in Gaza or have been murdered by Hamas. The foreign secretary will say there are more than 680 tonnes of UK aid waiting to enter Gaza, including medicines, shelters and hygiene kits – and the Foreign Office said he would push for a rapid increase in aid being allowed into the territory.
The government has stopped short of saying the UK will unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. Lammy said he would acknowledge the recognition of a Palestinian state was an “undeniable right of the Palestinian people”. He added that the UK would recognise the state as part of a renewed peace process, as well as condemning settlements in the West Bank as illegal and harmful.
