Your action is making a difference!

You demanded the UK government stop all arms sales, including parts and components, to Israel and to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

David Cameron, then Foreign Secretary, responded when signatures were at 45,000. You need to see his response below.

In the letter, though he acknowledges the horror unfolding in Gaza and the momentum you’re creating behind these demands, actions speak louder than words. Arms continued to be sold to Israel under his watch.

Now we have a new UK Government, your message is the same. It is still clear. It is still urgent. The new government must now take action and stop selling arms to Israel.

Sign our new petition to David Lammy, the new Foreign Secretary now.

Thank you for your email of 12th April attaching an open letter and petition signed by nearly 45,000 individuals about the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTS).

Israel suffered the worst terror attack in its history at the hands of Hamas, and Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We want the fighting to stop now. We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.

I have reiterated these messages in my contact with Prime Minister Netanyahu several times, most recently on 16th April. I also visited Israel with German Foreign Minister Baerbock on 17th April, met G7 partners in Italy immediately afterwards, and have spoken with leaders and counterparts in the OPTs, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE and Iran in recent weeks to make our position clear.

There must be a reduction in civilian casualties. All parties must act within International Humanitarian Law. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying their property, but Israel also has a right to self-defence within International Humanitarian Law.

The UK has one of the most robust arms export systems in the world, enshrined in law through the Export Control Act, and implemented through our Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. I regularly review advice about the situation in Gaza and Israel's conduct of their military campaign, and the latest assessment leaves our position on export licences unchanged (please see enclosed an extract from my press statement on 9th April). This is consistent with the advice that I and other Ministers have received, and as ever we will keep the position under review.

As I reiterated in my BBC interview on Sunday 12th May, we do continue to have grave concerns around humanitarian access in Gaza. Not enough aid is getting through, so we are continuing to press the Government of Israel to do more including opening Ashdod port, building a pier off the beach in Gaza, and getting more aid trucks into Gaza each day.

As a State Party to the Geneva Conventions, 1949, the Israeli Government is obliged to take action against Israeli nationals accused of grave breaches of International Humanitarian Law. It is for the Israeli domestic judicial system to try or extradite those accused of grave breaches. Our view is that Israel's actions in Gaza cannot be described as a genocide, but we also remain clear that formal determination of genocide should be based upon the final judgment of a competent national or international court such as the ICJ.

As I have said repeatedly, the immediate priority must be a stop in the fighting, which is the best route to secure the safe release of hostages and significantly step up the aid reaching Gaza. We want to see this cessation lead to a sustainable ceasefire without a return to further fighting and that remains the primary focus of all our diplomatic efforts.

Yours,

David.