Welcome to the Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine (LDFP) news bulletin. This bulletin aims to keep you up to date and engaged with the latest updates related to LDFP and Liberal Democrat Parliamentarians’ contributions about Palestine in parliament.

National Demonstration for Palestine: Nakba 77: Saturday 17 May 2025 Join us on Saturday 17 May for the next National Demonstration for Palestine.On the 77th anniversary of the Nakba – the 1948 catastrophe in which Palestinians were violently expelled from their homes – we will gather once again to march for justice, peace, and freedom for Palestine. The march will begin at Embankment Tube station. 🗓 Date: Saturday 17 May 2025 📍 Location: Central London (assembling at Café in the Crypt by St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 4JH) 🕛 Time: From 11amWe will participate as usual with an LDFP banner.  The organisers of our group have a WhatsApp group and will post a location link in there on the day to make it easier to find us. For more information, or to be added to the WhatsApp group, contact info@ldfp.org.uk.

Latest Articles Susie Becher, British Deputies Deserve Commendation, Not Condemnation – 24 April 2025, Times of Israel Susie Becher of the Policy Working Group – a collective of senior Israeli academics, former diplomats, and human rights defenders pushing for an end to Israel’s occupation and international recognition of the State of Palestine – has written this timely and important piece, which she’s asked us to share. The article reflects on the backlash faced by 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews who criticised Netanyahu’s policies, exploring what this reveals about the shrinking space for dissent, the role of diaspora voices, and the urgent need for moral clarity. A thoughtful and necessary read from someone deeply engaged in the struggle for a just resolution for Palestine.  Jonathan Brown, The Pathway to Peace for Israel and Palestine: the West Bank is Critical Too – 18th April 2025, Lib Dem VoiceRead our latest article by LDFP Vice-Chair Jonathan Brown, which examines the intensifying settler violence and illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, and argues that the UK must end its complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation if it is to uphold international law and help secure a just and lasting peace.

Parliamentary Round Up We are pleased that no less than half our 72 MPs and several of our peers have spoken or asked written questions about Palestine in Parliament since the General Election last year.  They clearly share our deep shock about the genocide that is happening before our eyes and being shown daily on our TV screens – especially on Channel 4 News.  Here are the highlights: Oral interventions (30 April) Westminster Hall – Safety of humanitarian workers: Conflict zones Tom Morrison MP: ”Members will be aware of the awful killing of 15 paramedics and rescue workers on 23 March in Rafah. While the Israeli military were quick to claim that they had fired on “suspicious vehicles” driving in the dark without emergency lights or headlights on, video footage released of the attack showed that those claims were false … There has still been no independent investigation into the incident.” Watch on Parliament TV. Read the debate transcript. (29 April) House of Lords – Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Visit  Baroness Janke:  “Commitment to the two-state solution will be worth little if further action of the Israeli Government should be to annex the illegally occupied West Bank. In the light of statements made by Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir and increasing violence supported by the IDF, what are the UK Government doing to ensure that this does not happen? In the light of the accelerating violence, will the UK sanction further violent settlers?” Watch on Parliament TV. Read the debate transcript. (29 April) Commons Chamber – Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Visit  Monica Harding MP: ”For more than 50 days Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza and shuttered border crossing points… The risk of starvation, disease and death is very real, even as 116,000 tonnes of food aid languishes at border checkpoints. In a joint statement with French and German counterparts, the Foreign Secretary called this “intolerable”, and rightly so, but what are the Government doing to end the blockade and ensure that aid can flow into Gaza?” Lee Dillon MP: “There can be no future for Gaza unless the killing and destruction ends. That is why, in September last year, it was welcome that the Government suspended 29 arms export licences, following concern that there was a risk that they could be used by the Israelis to break international law in Gaza. However, a further 34 export licences to Israel were granted between September and December last year—more than were originally blocked.” Watch on Parliament TV. Read the debate transcript. (7 April) Commons Chamber –Israel: Refusal of Entry for UK Parliamentarians Edward Morello MP: “Given that this is how the current Israeli Government act towards their allies, disregarding democratic and diplomatic norms, what steps will the Government take to help ensure that Israel enters into negotiations with its enemies towards a lasting peace and a two-state solution?” Alistair Carmichael MP: ”The attack on the hon. Members for Sheffield Central and for Earley and Woodley is an attack on us all…. We know that Israel has closed off Gaza in recent years; if the treatment of the hon. Members is anything to go by, it now looks like it will do the same thing for the West Bank. What will the Minister do to ensure that it is not allowed to do that?” Watch on Parliament TV. Read the debate transcript. (2 April) Commons Chamber – Gaza: Israeli Military Operations Andrew George MP: ”We can all see the discomfort of the Minister in having to embroider language, referring merely to the risk of the breach of international law and not speaking plainly on behalf of our country… If the Minister is not prepared to make the statement that many of us wish for him to make, will he at least admit that the actions of the far-right Israeli Government can no longer be described as self-defence?” Monica Harding MP: “Israel’s expansion of military activity in Gaza, including a strike on UN medical facilities, displacement of civilians and the Defence Minister’s new proposal to seize large swathes of territory is gravely disturbing. It seems that international humanitarian law is being violated.”   Watch on Parliament TV. Read the debate transcript. (1 April) Commons Chamber – Foreign Office Questions Will Forster MP: ”Earlier this year, I visited the West Bank with colleagues in the Chamber as part of a parliamentary delegation, where I saw the awful Israeli illegal violence in Hebron and Susya. We ran into two Israeli settlers who clearly wanted us off the area that they had burned down. Will the Foreign Secretary go further than he has in condemning that violence by agreeing to full sanctions and an embargo on all Israeli illegal settlements?” Wendy Chamberlain MP: “We all despair at the recent breakdown of the ceasefire agreement, the resumption of hostilities and the blockade of aid into Gaza… The Minister mentioned the conversations that have been had with Israel. First, can he assure me that we are making it clear that the only way we will achieve a lasting peace is through a two-state solution, which will not achieved by subjecting people to such hardship? Secondly, what conversations are ongoing with allies about restoring aid drops directly into Gaza?” Vikki Slade MP: “It emerged today that a 17-year-old Palestinian boy who had been taken from the west bank has died in Israeli detention, having been held for 6 months without charge. Israel has been striking inside the west bank, and in doing so emboldening illegal settlers in their own violence. Given that Israel claims that it is targeting Hamas and not the people of Palestine itself, what specific actions is the Foreign Secretary taking to protect Palestinians in the west bank from both settler violence and Israeli forces?”      Read the debate transcript. Watch on Parliament TV. Early Day Motions (02 April) EDM 1050: Israeli Defence Force attacks on humanitarian workers – Tabled by Tom Morrison MP and sponsored by Liberal Democrat MPs Layla Moran, Helen Maguire, Adam Dance, Ben Lake, and Liz Saville Roberts.That this House is deeply shocked by the killing of 15 paramedic and rescue workers in Gaza, whose bodies were discovered handcuffed in mass graves following an attack from the Israeli Defence Force; notes the statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemning the attack and calling for an independent, prompt and thorough investigation into the deaths; recognises the essential and life-saving work carried out by humanitarian personnel, including those from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestinian Civil Defence, and UNRWA, who came under fire while attempting to rescue their injured colleagues in Rafah on 23 March 2025; strongly condemns all attacks on humanitarian workers, which constitute a grave violation of international law; urges the UK Government to take immediate action by calling for an independent investigation, holding those responsible to account and ensuring the protection of humanitarian personnel in conflict zones; and asks the Government to put every effort into ensuring the unconditional and immediate release of hostages and the lifting of the Israeli government’s illegal blockade of Gaza. (01 May) EDM 1186: Blockade of aid to Gaza – Tabled by Calum Miller MP and sponsored by Liberal Democrat MPs Wendy Chamberlain, Helen Maguire, Munira Wilson, Alistair Carmichael and Anna Sabine. That this House expresses its deep concern that the Israeli Government’s current blockade of Gaza has now exceeded 50 days; notes with alarm the recent announcement from the World Food Programme that it has fully depleted its food stocks in Gaza; further notes the severe shortages of medicine, medical equipment, and staff to provide medical attention to those most in need; acknowledges that the vast majority of international and Palestinian aid organisations working in Gaza have had to suspend or scale back services since the recommencement of hostilities on 18 March 2025; and urges the Government to use all levers at its disposal to put pressure on the Israeli Government to immediately reopen aid routes into Gaza to allow essential goods and supplies to reach those suffering and alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Top News Stories Israel security cabinet approves plan to ‘capture’ Gaza, official says – BBC News, 5 May Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel – Sky News, 2 May Gaza edges closer to famine as Israel’s total blockade nears its third month – CNN, 1 May Lammy confirms UK and France in talks over Palestine recognition – The Guardian, 30 April 100 Palestinians Killed in Weekend of Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Common Dreams, 27th April Israel flattens Rafah ruins; Gazans fear plan to herd them there – Reuters, 28 April UN’s top court begins hearings on Israel’s legal duties towards Palestinians – BBC News, 28 April Israeli military admits its troops killed UN worker in Gaza Strip – BBC News, 24 April Dozens of members of UK Jewish body facing disciplinary action over criticism of Israel, The Guardian, 23 April ‘Another Gaza’: British MPs warn of apartheid conditions after West Bank visit– The New Arab, 23 April Israel’s open fire policy killed 183 children in the West Bank since 7 October – The New Arab, 22 April Video emerges of aid workers being fired on in Gaza – contradicting Israeli account of deadly attack – Sky News, 25 April Airstrike destroys parts of Gaza City hospital as Israel intensifies offensive – The Guardian, 13 April ‘Gaza ‘hell on earth’ as hospital supplies running out, warns head of Red Cross – Reuters, 11 April Israeli attack on journalist tent near Nasser Hospital kills two, injures several – Middle East Eye, 7th April Chemical burns, assaults, electric shocks – Gazans tell BBC of torture in Israeli detention – BBC News, 7th April Two MPs ‘astounded’ after being denied entry to Israel – BBC News, 6 April Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize ‘large areas’– Le Monde, 2 April Israel’s war on Gaza deadliest conflict ever for journalists, says report – Al Jazeera, 2 April