UK politicians call for sanctions on Israel as Starmer's Gaza legacy slammed

UK politicians call for sanctions on Israel as Starmer's Gaza legacy slammed

Over 80 British MPs and lords have called on their government to impose comprehensive sanctions on Israel, as a collection of charities slammed outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer's legacy on Palestine.

In a letter to the UK’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, the politicians urge the government to act “in line with the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on Israel”. 

This Sunday, 19 July, will mark two years since the ICJ found that Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories was “unlawful”, and that its “near-complete separation” of people in the occupied West Bank breached international laws concerning “racial segregation” and “apartheid”. 

“We urge the government to impose sanctions and other concrete measures to uphold its legal obligations under this ruling and wider international law,” the letter’s signatories, led by Labour MPs Imran Hussain and Richard Burgon, write.

On Wednesday, 17 British charities urged Andy Burnham, who is set to take over as prime minister from Starmer, “to take action to end Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians”.

Read more: UK politicians call for sanctions on Israel as Starmer's Gaza legacy slammed

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, 8 July 2026 (Alastair Grant/Pool via Reuters) ...