Senior Labour MP Leads Cross-Party Push for UK Sanctions Against Israel Over Gaza Attacks

Senior Labour MP Richard Burgon is leading a cross-party parliamentary drive demanding the UK impose comprehensive sanctions on Israel in response to what he and backers call the Gaza genocide and continuing violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“Creating new perspectives since 2009 March 11, 2026 at 7:01 pm Protesters called for “an end to the occupation and a halt to arms sales to Israel” during the national march organized in London by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London, United Kingdom on November 29, 2025”

Middle East Monitor

Burgon told supporters that “After the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli government is moving to annex the West Bank. Only sanctions – on arms, trade, the economy & Israeli officials – can stop these war crimes,” and said more than 60 parliamentarians have formally backed a motion that calls for a significant shift in UK diplomatic and economic policy.

Middle East Monitor

The motion is presented as a legal and moral response to what organisers describe as Israel’s ongoing war crimes and a looming annexation of Palestinian land.

The motion explicitly anchors its demands in international law, citing the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and a statement backed by 85 UN member states that oppose a “de facto annexation of the West Bank.”

The motion quotes the ICJ finding that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and must end “as rapidly as possible,” and insists the UK must follow the court’s directive by refraining from any aid, assistance or trade that treats the occupation as lawful.

Middle East Monitor

Burgon and supporters argue the UK’s response should mirror measures taken against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine by imposing targeted sanctions on arms, trade and officials linked to settlement activity and the occupation.

“Creating new perspectives since 2009 March 11, 2026 at 7:01 pm Protesters called for “an end to the occupation and a halt to arms sales to Israel” during the national march organized in London by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London, United Kingdom on November 29, 2025”

Middle East Monitor

The motion explicitly urges the UK to ban trade and investment in goods and services tied to illegal settlements and to take concrete steps to prevent economic activity that entrenches occupation, arguing that the UK has legal obligations under the ICJ opinion that it is not currently meeting.

The motion situates the sanctions demand against a backdrop of escalating violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the Gaza genocide began on Oct. 8, 2023, and ongoing attacks by Israeli forces and settler militias in the West Bank.

The article records severe human costs in the West Bank, citing at least 1,121 Palestinians killed, 11,700 injured and nearly 22,000 arrested amid killings, home demolitions, displacement and settlement expansion.

Middle East Monitor

The push has wider public support and ties to a broader solidarity movement in the UK that has called for an end to occupation and a halt to arms sales to Israel, exemplified by national marches organised by groups like the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

“Creating new perspectives since 2009 March 11, 2026 at 7:01 pm Protesters called for “an end to the occupation and a halt to arms sales to Israel” during the national march organized in London by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London, United Kingdom on November 29, 2025”

Middle East Monitor

Burgon’s motion points to perceived double standards in UK foreign policy and demands the government take steps now, arguing legal and moral imperatives require banning trade and assisting measures that sustain occupation and settlement expansion.

Middle East Monitor