The UK government has not found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, but that it “must do more” to prevent the suffering of Palestinians, according to a government letter.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy outlined the UK’s position on September 1, while he was still serving as foreign secretary, to MPs scrutinising the government’s humanitarian programme.
“The crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group’,” Mr Lammy said in the letter to the International Development Committee.
“The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”
The UK government had “carefully considered” the risk of genocide, he wrote, including when permitting exports linked to the F-35 fighter jet programme, which campaigners say contribute to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Mr Lammy had previously said that the government would be guided by the International Courts in its assessments of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He told MPs in the House of Commons on September 1 that whether or not Israel was committing genocide in Gaza was “a matter for the legal system”.
Israel has strongly denied it is committing genocide in Gaza, but a case brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice will aim to establish whether a genocide is taking place.
Yet the UK currently does not consider that the ICJ’s advisory opinions on the case “should be regarded as creating an awareness of a serious risk of genocide”, Mr Lammy wrote.
The world’s leading association of genocide scholars said earlier in September that it believed genocide was taking place in Gaza.
Mr Lammy also criticised “the appalling situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” which he said “has continued to deteriorate” as Israel announced an expansion of its military activities in Gaza.
“The high civilian casualties, including women and children, and the extensive destruction in Gaza, are utterly appalling,” he wrote.
“Israel must do much more to prevent and alleviate the suffering that this conflict is causing.”
The letter emerged as Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mr Lammy’s successor Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and proposed plans for reforming the Palestinian Authority.
The UK is preparing to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September, but experts and diplomats warned of a possible retaliation by Israel that could affect the Palestinians.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will visit London this week but meetings with the UK government have not yet been confirmed.