Israel/Palestine: Complicity
Our campaigning for peace and reconciliation has always rested on respect for the rule of law, a determination to uncover the truth, and a refusal to tolerate ideologies that promote hatred, war and terrorism. The fragile ceasefire in Gaza must not distract us from prosecuting war crimes thoroughly or from accelerating progress toward a twostate solution.
I usually avoid conflating the Israel–Palestine conflict with broader issues around Islamophobia and antisemitism, but recent events compel me to speak plainly. In the wake of the appalling atrocity in Sydney, it is right to express solidarity with the victims and their families. Those who stand for peace must also stand with the Jewish community, oppose antisemitism, and confront the hate-filled ideologies that fuel terrorism.
Visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories earlier this year made clear both the urgent need for peace and the fact that not everyone is working toward it. Eight weeks into the fragile Gaza ceasefire, international attention is already drawing a veil over war crimes as it focuses on peace, governance, and reconstruction. For the Netanyahu government and some western allies, talk of the future can become a rhetorical device to deflect scrutiny of past and ongoing atrocities and to avoid calls for justice.
In Parliament, ministers have used the ceasefire to present the UK as a key peacebuilder. Yet, as highlighted in Peter Oborne’s recent book, serious concerns remain about the extent of UK involvement in Israel’s policy of retribution, genocide and starvation of its people and consequent destruction of Gaza, including (but not only) through the supply of arms, intelligence, and other forms of military aid.
In September 2024 the government partially suspended arms sales to Israel, revoking roughly 30 of 350 relevant licences. That limited action left significant loopholes, notably an exemption for exports to the global F35 programme, despite evidence the jets have bombed civilians in Gaza.
Beyond the F35 carveout, UK military goods continued to flow to Israel in worrying quantities. Analysis by Channel 4 FactCheck shows that in June 2025 UK munitions worth about £400,000 entered Israel— the highest monthly figure since records began three years ago. Ministers note the data does not distinguish live munitions from training equipment, but why would we supply any military material to an army accused of genocide? Regardless, the UK and Israeli governments refuse to disclose the nature of the shipments, making proper scrutiny impossible.
The UK also supplied Israel with military intelligence during the conflict. Between December 2023 and March 2025 the RAF flew over 500 surveillance missions over Gaza, officially described as hostagerecovery operations but conducted in neartotal secrecy, with no footage released and no clear safeguards to prevent misuse. An Action on Armed Violence investigation found that UK intelligence flights repeatedly coincided with major Israeli assaults, including the April 2024 attack on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy that killed seven aid workers, among them a former marine from my part of Cornwall, James Henderson. The barrister for one of the British victims said it was “highly likely” RAF intelligence helped enable the strike; ministers denied this in the Commons.
Another overlooked dimension is the UK’s failure to prosecute citizens who’ve fought for Israeli forces and for whom there is credible evidence of their having committed war crimes. Over 50 Britons served in the IDF as ‘lone soldiers’ during the genocide, and the true scale of British involvement is likely higher. With the UK’s recognition of Palestine, legal avenues to hold such individuals accountable have strengthened, but whether the government will act is unclear.
Examples of UK complicity extend beyond arms and intelligence. The UK trained IDF soldiers on UK soil, sent its own soldiers to receive training in Israel, granted high-ranking Israeli officers special immunity to visit the country, and allowed Israeli defence companies to exhibit their ‘battle-tested’ weapons at the UK’s largest arms fair. These practices form part of a longstanding system of cooperation tracing back to the British occupation of Palestine from 1917–1948, which arguably helped shape tactics used by Israeli forces today.
There are concrete steps our government could take to address these issues. It could officially apologise for international law violations committed during the British mandate era; launch a public enquiry into possible British complicity in present Israeli war crimes; release intelligence footage from RAF surveillance missions to support evidence-gathering; and support ongoing efforts to prosecute any British citizens alleged to have committed war crimes. Having recently recognised Israel’s genocide, the Liberal Democrats could now be at the forefront of efforts to advocate such measures.
We must pressure the government not only to confront historical responsibilities but to prevent further complicity as Israel continues its near-daily war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank. Ministers should not be allowed to use the ceasefire to retreat from the limited measures they have introduced, from the partial armsexport suspension to the pause on training Israeli soldiers. Such a retreat would risk breaching the UK’s obligation to withhold military support that could aid Israel’s unlawful occupation, as set out in the ICJ’s July 2024 Advisory Opinion.
With ministers eager to move on, it falls to Parliament — and especially to parties prepared to speak candidly about genocide — to expose complicity, demand accountability, and ensure our legal duties are fully honoured. Anything less risks making Britain a knowing accomplice in some of the worse crimes known to humanity.