Early day motion · EDM 218 · 1 Jun 2026

Government response to Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza

Tabled by Richard Burgon (Labour) 62 signatures

The motion

That this House condemns the May 2026 order by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s army to seize 70% of the Gaza Strip; further condemns Israel's intensified annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory of the West Bank, including the approval of plans to register land there as Israeli state property; notes that the establishment of settlements, land seizures and forced displacement of Palestinian communities violate international law; recalls the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which found that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and must end as rapidly as possible, and that all new settlement activity must cease; further notes the Court made clear that all states, including the UK, must not only recognise this situation as unlawful but must refrain from any aid or assistance that maintains it and must take steps to prevent economic or trade activity that entrenches it; also notes that the Government rightly imposed widespread sanctions on Russia for its illegal war in Ukraine but has failed to do so in light of Israel’s reported war crimes and repeated international law violations; and calls on the Government to meet its legal obligations following the ICJ Opinion by banning trade and investment in goods and services with illegal Israeli settlements, imposing targeted sanctions including travel bans and asset freezes on all individuals and entities complicit in Israel’s occupation, suspending the UK–Israel trade agreement until Israel complies with international law, and imposing an arms embargo on Israel.