During the Gaza war, the United Kingdom government has supported Israel diplomatically, has shared Gaza surveillance information with Israel and has allowed arms sales to Israel's military. It has also condemned some of Israel's actions, including its killing of Palestinian civilians and blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The United Kingdom does not recognise Palestine as a state. The UK has a non-accredited Consulate General in Jerusalem that "represents the UK government in Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza", and works on "political, commercial, security and economic interests between the UK and the Palestinian territories".
Recently, France, Australia, the UK, and Canada have stated their intention to recognize Palestine by September 2025, partially conditional upon direct negotiations between Israel and the PA. Many countries support a two-state solution to the conflict.
Why are people in the UK protesting for Palestine?
Protesters stressed that being pro-Palestinian did not make someone antisemitic, Reasons people gave for protesting included calling for a ceasefire; for an end to the bombing of, and "the massacre" in, Gaza and an end to the killing of Palestinian children; for a "free Palestine [and an] end [to] Israeli occupation"; ...
What is the relationship between the UK and Israel?
Israel and the UK engage together in scientific research, defence and the development of new technologies, with the UK seeking to tap into Israel's considerable high technology sector through local British initiatives. The UK since 2011 has sought to partner British companies with Israeli advanced technology companies.
By more than 1,000 years, “Israel” predates “Palestine.” The land then became home primarily to an Arab population, again for more than a millennium. Both Jews and Arabs thus have a legitimate claim to the land. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen myriad wrongs and brutalities on both sides.
Designated as a terrorist group by. United Kingdom. The group uses direct action to disrupt the UK arms industry, which it accuses of being complicit with Israel in conducting a genocide. Key targets have been British factories of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and RAF Brize Norton base.
In December 2023, the Free Palestine Movement organized a "solidarity stand" in the Yarmouk Camp to protest against the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Marches, rallies, and vigils are a powerful way to publicly demonstrate solidarity with Gaza. To make your message loud and clear, download and print our free posters for Palestine. You can also read AFSC's resources on peaceful protesting. Write a letter to the editor.
The continual conflict between Israel and Palestine regarding their inability to acknowledge the other's claims to territory has resulted in many years of violence and instability in the region.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine.
The UK is committed to supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza and has announced £60m in humanitarian funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories so far, this financial year.
Mandatory Palestine was a British administrative territory that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations' Mandate for Palestine. The British took the territory deeming it presently unfit for self-governance.
The UK government issues licenses to British companies to sell military equipment to Israel, and Israel has used British-supplied weapons in the war: British companies supply less than 1% of Israel's military imports, and according to the UK government, British military exports to Israel amounted to £18 million in 2023 ...
Hamas is an acronym of the Arabic phrase حركة المقاومة الإسلامية or Ḥarakah al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah, meaning "Islamic Resistance Movement". This acronym, HMS, was glossed in the 1988 Hamas Covenant by the Arabic word ḥamās (حماس) which itself means "zeal", "strength", or "bravery".
The Free Gaza Movement (FGM) is a coalition of human rights activists and pro-Palestinian groups formed to break Egypt and Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and publicise the situation of the Palestinians there.
Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in late 19th-century Europe to establish and support a Jewish homeland through the colonization of Palestine, a region corresponding to the Land of Israel in Judaism and central to Jewish history.
In an effort to win the support of Jewish communities in both Allied countries like the United States, and enemy countries like Austria Hungary, the UK foreign secretary signed the Balfour Declaration. Vowing to set up a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.
If you are in the UK, the best and quickest way to help support people in Gaza and affected areas like the West Bank is to donate to the Gaza Crisis appeal. Through this appeal the British Red Cross is supporting the Palestine Red Crescent Society with its lifesaving work.
The Palestinians seek to establish their own independent state in at least one part of historic Palestine. Israeli defense of its own borders, control over the West Bank, the Egyptian-Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian internal politics currently make the Palestinians' goal out of reach.
Historically M&S has been targeted by some campaigners regarding its connections to the Israeli state. We have not identified any current organised boycott calls against the brand, or stronger links between M&S and the Israeli state than other high street clothes brands.
Following the October 7 attacks and the outbreak of the Gaza war, the United States has provided extensive military, diplomatic, and financial support to Israel throughout the Gaza war.
