Nearly 60 UK Labour MPs Urge Immediate Palestinian State Recognition

Nearly 60 UK Labour MPs have urged Foreign Secretary David Lammy and the British government to immediately recognise Palestine as a sovereign state in response to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's plan to forcibly relocate Gaza's entire population to a fenced camp on the ruins of Rafah. The MPs described this plan as ethnic cleansing and cited Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, who called it an operational plan for crimes against humanity involving population transfer as a prelude to deportation outside Gaza. The letter, organised by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East and signed by a mix of centrist and left-wing MPs, demands urgent diplomatic action to prevent the plan and outlines five measures including recognition of Palestine, support for UNRWA, and the resumption of humanitarian aid. French President Emmanuel Macron also publicly urged the UK to recognise Palestine, calling it the only path to peace. While Israel claims the plan aims to separate civilians from Hamas, critics see it as forced displacement and ethnic cleansing. The MPs warn that failure to recognise Palestine undermines the two-state solution and risks the effective erasure of Palestinian territory.