British MPs urge government to expel Israeli ambassador, impose arms embargo

A group of British MPs issued a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and immediate action against Israel over its "acts of genocide" in Gaza.

In the letter, signed by more than a dozen MPs from Labour, the Greens, the SNP, and Plaid Cymru, the signatories said they were "horrified" by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stated intention to carry out a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip.

"This declaration is the latest escalation in a campaign that has already led to the near-total destruction of Gaza, the systematic starvation of its civilian population, and the deaths of countless thousands, including a staggering number of children," the MPs wrote.

The MPs cited reports from UN agencies, humanitarian organizations and legal scholars, arguing that "mounting evidence" shows the Israeli government's actions "amount to acts of genocide-in both intent and effect".

They also accused Israel of ignoring the International Court of Justice's provisional measures ordering it to halt military operations and prevent genocidal acts, calling this "flagrant" defiance of international law.

The letter calls on the UK government to expel the Israeli ambassador, impose a total arms embargo on Israel, sanction those involved in the siege and occupation, lead an international effort to deliver immediate aid to Gaza, support war crimes investigations, suspend trade preferences until the blockade and occupation end, and allow international journalists' immediate entry to Gaza.

"The government cannot continue to provide political cover or military support, directly and indirectly, to actions that amount to genocide," the MPs said. "Our silence or inaction in the face of genocide is not neutrality, it is complicity."

The letter was signed by MPs including Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana, Dianne Abbott, Sian Berry, and Liz Saville Roberts.