Surrey Heath MP Calls for Immediate Recognition of Palestine

Date: 31/07/2025

Dear Prime Minister,

Yesterday, this country took a vital step towards helping to create the conditions for a just and lasting peace across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The commitment that you made to recognising a state of Palestine in September is of historic importance.

We were immensely disappointed, however, that you chose to make recognition conditional on Israel failing to take measures to end the war in Gaza. Recognising the state of Palestine should not be seen as a bargaining chip but, rather, as a principled means through which to reflect in law the self-determination of the Palestinian people.

Liberal Democrats have been calling for the unconditional and immediate recognition of Palestine for years. It is the right thing to do and forms an essential step on the path to securing a stable two-state solution which provides security and dignity for Palestinians and Israelis alike. We hope that you will reconsider the conditionality of your plan and instead move to immediately recognise Palestine.

As we look ahead to the UN General Assembly Session, it is vital that we continue to advance the core principles which underpin our collective hopes for peace and justice in the Middle East.

And that includes doing all that we can to empower Israeli and Palestinian moderates, while drawing power away from the extremes.

The actions of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Cabinet, both in Gaza and the West Bank, are flagrant breaches of international law of the most serious kind, and are systematically undermining the chance of there being any Palestinian state to recognise. The latest proposals from Israeli ministers, the so-called ‘humanitarian city’, would clearly amount to ethnic cleansing.

We understand that an acknowledgment of this reality was a reason for your decision to make the announcement around recognition this week.

We believe, however, that there are other concrete and genuine steps which the Government could take to apply pressure to the Israeli Government: to fully reopen aid routes into Gaza, halt its military campaign there, and roll back the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

With a view to securing those vital goals, will the Government consider implementing Liberal Democrat calls to:

• Sanction Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Cabinet Ministers for continuing to block the full reopening of aid into Gaza and expanding the military campaign there?
• Ban the export of all UK arms to Israel, including taking steps to isolate and withhold those UK-produced F-35 components that are being used to supply or service jets used by the Israeli Government?
• Ban trade with all illegal Israeli settlements across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, ensuring that UK businesses cannot contribute to supporting the development of these settlements?

Liberal Democrats have consistently said that the remaining hostages must be released without condition. We have also been clear that Hamas can have no part in the future governance of Palestine.

We know that you will share our relief and encouragement at the joint announcement from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, condemning for the first time Hamas’ utterly vile terror attack on Israel on 7 October, calling for the unconditional release of the Israeli hostages, and stating that Hamas can no longer rule in Gaza.

We must take the opportunity to build on this important progress amongst our Arab partners. Will you agree, therefore, to hold a Recognition and Reconstruction Conference with international and regional partners, to help develop plans for the rebuilding of Gaza and practical steps to support the development of the Palestinian state?

The plight of the hostages, abducted over 650 days ago by Hamas terrorists and who still remain in captivity, must be at the forefront of the Government’s planning.

In light of this joint declaration and your statement this week, can you confirm what additional pressure the Government will bring to bear on Hamas to release the remaining hostages, as well as to disarm and disband?

Now is the moment to act with courage and to do all that we can to bring about that political condition of two states which we know offers the only realistic prospect of peace.

Yours sincerely,

Sir Ed Davey MP – Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Calum Miller MP – Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson
Dr Al Pinkerton MP and the other Liberal Democrat MPs