| Welcome to the Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine (LDFP) news bulletin. This bulletin aims to keep you informed about the latest updates related to LDFP and wider party activity on Palestine. The bulletin is sent to a mailing list of Lib Dems and supporters who have expressed interest in our work. We encourage those who are not already members of LDFP to consider joining. Details are available here. |
Ed Davey’s comments on Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Contest On Friday 5th December, responding to the news that Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia would withdraw from Eurovision over Israel’s participation, Ed Davey told Sky News he opposed the boycott, arguing that “there is a ceasefire in Gaza and therefore this action is the wrong thing.” LDFP has publicly distanced itself from this statement, which does not represent the views of our members or supporters. To say there is a ceasefire is a complete fallacy and a dangerous illusion to create. Israel has already violated the ceasefire more than 591 times and, on average, Israeli weapons continue to kill seven people a day. We must continue to call for sanctions on Israel, including the boycott of Eurovision, until it dismantles the illegal occupation and ends its genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people. View our response on X, Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky. |
| Parliamentary Updates Confiscation of Pro-Palestinian materials by parliamentary security  On 24th November, a badge displaying the words “Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine” was confiscated from our Secretary, John Kelly, by parliamentary security, who stated they had been instructed not to allow any badges that mentioned Palestine. In response, we worked with the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) to raise these concerns directly with the Director of Parliamentary Security, who confirmed that no such policy exists for the confiscation of Palestinian symbols or materials. Just two days after this response, Amnesty International UK experienced the confiscation of its briefings on the genocide in Gaza at a parliamentary event. Taken together, these developments point to a broader and discriminatory pattern of censorship against Palestine-related materials in Parliament. Read Middle East Eye’s article on the incidents here and learn more about ICJP’s letter to the Director of Parliamentary Security here. Roundtable on settlement trade  On 10th December, Liberal Democrat parliamentarians came together for a private roundtable to discuss the urgent need for a full UK ban on trade with Israel’s illegal settlements, and to brainstorm how best to coordinate parliamentary action around this issue. The session opened with interventions from experts at Oxfam, Christian Aid and Amnesty International UK, who highlighted the UK’s legal obligations to prevent trade with illegal settlements, how UK companies are complicit in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, and the practicalities of what a ban could look like. This was followed by an open discussion about how Lib Dem parliamentarians can most effectively raise this issue and ensure the Government is pushed to act. The session was hosted by Alistair Carmichael MP. Wider parliamentary engagement Our settlement roundtable concludes a busy year in which LDFP has stepped up its parliamentary engagement, meeting with 31 MPs as well as numerous staffers, peers, and advisors. Our work has focused predominantly on parliamentarians involved in foreign affairs, but as domestic developments increasingly impinge on pro-Palestine activity and wider civil liberties, we will be expanding our engagement with Home Affairs, Culture, and Media spokespersons and Select Committee members in the New Year. We look forward to meeting with parliamentarians across these areas and working with them to ensure that civil liberties and the right to advocate for Palestinian rights are fully reflected across all relevant parliamentary portfolios. |
| Lib Dem Activity on Palestine Baroness Northover hosts the Israeli Policy Working Group in parliament On 12 November, Liberal Democrats MPs and peers took part in a briefing hosted by Baroness Northover with the Israeli Policy Working Group, a team of Israeli academics, journalists, political activists and former diplomats who advocate for peace between Israel and Palestine based on the two-state solution. The discussion centred on the need for the UK to use its influence with international partners to encourage wider recognition of Palestine; to ensure that recognition is followed by meaningful steps to stop the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank; and to press urgently for the release of prisoner Marwan Barghouti, widely recognised as the most popular Palestinian leader and a figure capable of uniting fractions behind a just political solution. Parliamentary debates 24 November) Westminster Hall – Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations  Lee Dillon MP: The hon. Lady touches on the burden that women and children are facing. Does she agree that, with 123,000 pregnant women across the West Bank and Gaza living with severe malnutrition, inadequate medical care and soaring risks to themselves and their babies, it is incumbent on the Government to provide as much aid as possible so that those 123,000 pregnant women are supported?  Alistair Carmichael MP: If there is to be any civic infrastructure in Gaza, the seeds of that must come from the West Bank, and in the West Bank it is under threat day and daily. Therefore, although she is right to say that the international focus has to be on Gaza, we cannot ignore the fact that Palestinians in the west bank are undergoing a horrific programme of settler oppression, settler violence and settler expansion, which threatens both Gaza and the West Bank.  Monica Harding MP: The Government should ensure that lifesaving humanitarian aid flows freely into Gaza. They must use every diplomatic channel to secure the full opening of land crossings, predictable UN approvals, the restoration of Rafah for civilian movement and an end to the unlawful restrictions that breach international humanitarian law and violate ICJ orders. How do the UK Government plan to engage with the Israeli authorities to ensure neutral, UN-led humanitarian delivery, free from political interference, and to press for all land crossings, including Rafah, to be fully opened so that aid can reach those who need it? Watch the debate Read the debate transcript (19 November) House of Lords – Gaza and Sudan  Lord Purvis: With regard to Gaza, we now have Resolution 2803 and, while it is positive that it is supported by the Palestinian Authority and the Arab states, it is worth noting that Palestinian statehood is not recognised as a right within it but is conditional. There is also a lack of reference to the continuing occupation.…A credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood is now the agreed focus, and this is welcome. The most recent statements of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the right-wing elements of his Government, however, could not have been more clear: they believe that there should never be a two-state solution. How are His Majesty’s Government responding to this contradictory situation?The UK can, as I have called for previously, provide an essential and practical service in the way forward, built on our expertise and experience in re-establishing education services, health services, law and order, and trusted judicial processes.  Lord Mohammed: We have seen pictures of aid stacked up in places such as Jordan and the flooding that has happened in Gaza. What actions will His Majesty’s Government take to ensure that those tents, which are needed right now, are provided, as well as access to baby food and other essentials? I have talked about sanitary products for women in the past. Can we please ensure that they reach the people in Gaza urgently? Watch the debate Read the debate transcript (18 November) House of Commons – Gaza and Sudan  Layla Moran MP: This is a moment where we must bolster international law, not undermine it. My question to the Foreign Secretary is this: what has happened to the UK response to the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the occupation? She herself in her statement pointed out the stranglehold on banks, that the Palestinian economy is on its knees and that the illegal settlements continue to grow. This is not new; this has been happening for decades. What are we doing about it? We must abide by that opinion.  Calum Miller MP: Last night’s UN Security Council resolution marks an important step forward, and I hope that it will reinforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. However, vital details are missing from the resolution. What will be the remit and scope of the international stabilisation force? How will Hamas be disarmed? How will those responsible for atrocities in Gaza be held accountable, and how does the Foreign Secretary envisage that a Palestinian committee will ensure that Palestinian self-determination is respected?The resolution focuses on Gaza, but we desperately need a clear road map to securing a two-state solution. That requires an end to illegal settlements in the west bank and East Jerusalem, and reform of the governance of the Palestinian Authority. How is the UK supporting reforms to the PA, and will the Foreign Secretary today commit to banning all UK trade with illegal settlements. Watch the debate Read the debate transcript (13 November) House of Lords – Palestinian Refugees  Lord Bruce of Bennachie: As long as Israel maintains its occupation of Gaza and the consolidation and illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the reality of a Palestinian state remains completely distant. As permanent members of the Security Council, what are Britain and France doing together to try to ensure the establishment of a Palestinian state and the resolution of the refugee problem?  Baroness Janke: In light of President Trump’s comments about the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, do the Government believe that the Palestinians should be given the right to return to their homes there, and what action are the Government taking about the forceable removal of Palestinians and displacement within the Gaza Strip and the Occupied Territories? Watch the debate Read the debate transcript (3 November) House of Lords – Gaza and Hamas  Lord Purvis: Given the terrible devastation in Gaza—which, as I have said in the Chamber before, is 20 times that of the scale of the Blitz in the Second World War, and on an area a quarter the size of London—it beggars belief that the hoped-for 600 trucks a day, as set out in the agreement, are not getting through. The latest reports say that less than 100 are getting through, and $50 million of aid is still waiting to get into Gaza. What practical steps are we in the western community taking? We were all happy to be with President Trump at the signing of the agreement, but it now seems that little action is being taken to get the desperately needed aid to civilians. Watch the debate Read the debate transcript Early Day Motions (17 November) EDM 2301: President Trump’s 20-point peace plan – Tabled by Calum Miller MP and signed by 35 other Lib Dem MPs. That this House welcomes the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas; expresses its relief at the release of the living hostages, and a cessation of the Israeli Government’s military operations; further expresses its anger at Hamas’ failure to rapidly repatriate the remaining hostages’ bodies; calls on Hamas to do so immediately; further calls on the Israeli Government to reopen all aid routes and flood Gaza with supplies; calls on all actors to exercise restraint and refrain from further violence or military action; expresses its hope that President Trump’s peace plan can lay the groundwork for a durable peace; notes with concern the plan’s lack of clarity on disarming Hamas, the timeline for the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza and establishing a clear pathway to a two-state solution; believes that mechanisms for accountability must form a key part of any sustainable peace, including pressuring the Israeli Government to allow journalists and investigators into Gaza to collect evidence of war crimes by all sides; recognises that Trump’s plan fails to address continued Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem which undermines the viability of a two-state solution; expresses alarm at the escalation in settler violence against Palestinian communities, most recently during the West Bank’s olive harvest; further calls on the Government to ban trade with the illegal settlements; further notes the vital importance of democratic reform within the Palestinian Authority to support state-building in Palestine; and calls on the Government to push for reforms, including tackling corruption, within the Palestinian Authority. Written Questions (19 November) Layla Moran MP Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has drafted a response to the ICJ opinion of 22 October 2025 entitled Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Government response: Awaiting response: due for answer by 25 November 2025. (14 November) Steve Darling MP Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure accountability for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. Government response: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 19 September to Question 74226: Since the start of the conflict, the UK has urged all parties to comply with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law, including in relation to protection of civilians. We continue to engage the Government of Israel at the highest levels to urge it to do much more to protect Gaza’s civilians and to ensure it fully complies with its obligations. (14 November) Steve Darling MP Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Israeli counterparts on the rise in settler violence and forced displacement affecting Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Government response: I refer the Hon. Member to the statement made on Gaza and Sudan by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November and the statement on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, following his participation in the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt on 13 October, where he addressed these issues at length (view here). (13 November) Baroness Janke Question: To ask His Majesty’s Government what recent representations they have made to the government of Israel about the release of Marwan Barghouti. Government response: I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer given in the House of Commons on 21 October in response to Question 80474, which I have reproduced below for ease of reference:The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions. (11 November) Munira Wilson MP Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the amount of court time used to pursue Palestine Action prosecutions in the last 12 months. Government response: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the amount of court time used to pursue Palestine Action prosecutions over the last 12 months. We have been working with the judiciary and other criminal justice partners to put in place measures to manage anticipated demand and ensure any prosecutions are dealt with efficiently and expeditiously. (11 November) James MacCleary MP Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether RAF flights over Gaza have led to (a) the release of any of the hostages and (b) other humanitarian benefits. Government response: As is a longstanding convention, I cannot comment on intelligence matters for reasons of national security and to preserve our ability to respond to future hostage incidents around the world. (04 November) John Milne MP Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Channel 4 Fact Check report entitled Value of UK arms imported by Israel, published on 29 September 2025. Government response: The Channel 4 report focuses on imports of ammunition and munitions by Israel. The UK does not licence the export of any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank. As Members will be aware, last year we suspended licences for exports of items to the IDF that might be used in military operations in Gaza. The report is based on Israeli customs data which does not differentiate between live munitions and training equipment or sporting ammunition for civilian use. Furthermore it does not differentiate between items staying in Israel and those scheduled for re-export to other countries.We take our arms control system very seriously and have taken every possible measure to ensure licences are not approved for exports that could be used by the IDF in Gaza. |
Latest News Gaza: Gravel, rotten wood and no bricks: Palestinians struggle to rebuild homes in the ruins of Gaza City – The Independent, 6 December ‘Bloodshed was supposed to stop’: no sign of normal life as Gaza’s killing and misery grind on – The Guardian, 6 December Israeli strike on Gaza camp kills five and destroys tents – The National, 4 December Two children were gathering firewood for their father. They were killed by an Israeli drone – CNN World, 2 December Over 350 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since ceasefire, authorities say – Middle East Monitor, 30 November Gaza death toll tops 70,000, health ministry says – Reuters, 29 November Israel still committing genocide in Gaza, Amnesty International says – The Guardian, 27 November Palestinian Civil Society Condemns UNSC Resolution 2803 Establishing Joint US-Israel Illegal Occupation of Gaza – Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, 20 November One of the oddest UN resolutions in history seeks to solidify shaky Gaza ceasefire into an enduring peace – The Guardian, 18 November US military planning for divided Gaza with ‘green zone’ secured by international and Israeli troops – The Guardian, 14 November ‘Everything is wiped out – there is nothing to salvage’: The bleak reality for Palestinians returning home after the ceasefire – The Independent, 13 November Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire – BBC News, 12 November How many times has Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire? Here are the numbers – Al Jazeera, 11 November Partition of Gaza a looming risk as Trump’s plan falters – Reuters, 11 November West Bank: Crackdown on Palestinian civil society: Union of Agricultural Work Committees raided – Relief Web, 3 December ‘I have been defeated’: hundreds of Palestinians face eviction from East Jerusalem – The Guardian, 1 December Jenin killings latest example of Israeli indifference to Palestinian death – Al Jazeera, 28 November Hundreds of Israeli soldiers raid Palestinian town in West Bank – The Guardian, 26 NovemberIsrael approves law allowing settlers to buy land in occupied West Bank – Middle East Monitor, 26 November Israeli forces bulldoze Palestinian land near Hebron settlement – Middle East Eye, 23 November Israel to seize 180 hectares near Bronze Age heritage site in West Bank – Middle East Eye, 20 November Reuters journalist among Palestinians injured after Israeli settlers attack olive harvesters in West Bank – The Independent, 10 November Abuse and torture of Palestinian detainees: Ben-Gvir, Far-right Party Members Attend Death Penalty Bill Hearing Wearing Noose-shaped Pins – Haaretz, 8 December The Guardian view on Marwan Barghouti: Palestinians need a political future as well as aid and reconstruction – The Guardian, 7 December Global campaign launched to free jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti – Al Jazeera, 4 December More than 200 leading cultural figures call for release of jailed Palestinian leader – The Guardian, 3 December Israel has ‘de facto state policy’ of organised torture, says UN report – The Guardian, 29 November Israel’s underground jail, where Palestinians are held without charge and never see daylight – The Guardian, 8 November Israel: Bill allowing death penalty for Palestinian prisoners advances to parliament – Middle East Eye, 3 November International & UK response: Exclusive: UK parliament accused of confiscating pro-Palestine material – Middle East Eye, 8 December BBC backs decision to let Israel join Eurovision as four countries boycott event– The Independent, 5 December Austria to go ahead with Eurovision despite financial impact of boycott – The Guardian, 5 December France, Germany, Italy, UK call on Israel to ‘abide by international law,’ protect Palestinians in West Bank – Middle East Monitor, 27 November This French judge approved Netanyahu’s arrest warrant. Now Trump is targeting him – The Guardian, 26 November Eurovision to change voting rules after claims of Israeli government ‘interference’ – Sky News, 21 November Singapore to impose sanctions on four Israeli settlers and deny them entry – The Independent, 21 November Germany lifts curbs on arms exports to Israel, citing Gaza ceasefire – Al Jazeera, 17 November UN committee calls for arms embargo and sanctions as Israel expands territorial reach – The National, 17 November Netherlands looks at trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements – Arab News, 10 November UK: Fifth Palestine Action prisoner joins rolling hunger strike over detention conditions – Middle East Eye, 5 November |
Publications “All My Dreams Have Been Erased”: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank – Human Rights Watch, 20 November  Averting West Bank collapse: How to revive Palestinian politics – European Council on Foreign Relations, 20 November  UN Committee against Torture publishes findings on Albania, Argentina, Bahrain and Israel – UNHCHR. 28 November |
