What is happening inside Gaza is intolerable yet we tolerate it
As Britain prepares for a Labour leadership transition, the long-suppressed tension between the party's stated values and its cautious Middle East policy has surfaced with unusual force. With the Green Party gaining ground and internal polling showing overwhelming member support for arms bans and trade restrictions on Israel, the political calculus around Palestine is shifting in ways that aspiring leaders can no longer afford to ignore. The question now is whether this moment of institutional realignment will produce genuine diplomatic courage or merely a more eloquent version of inaction.
- Over 900 people have died in Gaza since the ceasefire began, and the West Bank faces potential partition within months — the human cost of diplomatic paralysis is mounting.
- The Green Party's electoral surge has rattled Labour MPs, exposing how badly the party may have miscalculated the politics of Palestine among its own voters and members.
- Both frontrunners for Labour leadership have previously called for stronger action on Palestine, but neither has yet committed to the concrete measures — trade bans, ICJ compliance, settlement restrictions — that activists are demanding.
- Emily Thornberry's unusually blunt public rebuke of her own party — 'What is happening inside Gaza is intolerable yet we tolerate it' — signals that internal dissent has reached a new threshold of visibility.
- Analysts warn that Europe has effectively ceded diplomatic leadership on Palestine to a stalled Trump initiative, and argue Britain must now choose whether to reclaim that ground or remain a bystander.
The British pro-Palestine movement believes it is watching a door open. With Keir Starmer's departure from Downing Street approaching and a leadership race underway, activists see the conditions for a genuine shift in Labour's approach to Israel and Gaza — written in local election results, internal polling, and the careful positioning of the two frontrunners.
The numbers are striking: 78 percent of Labour members support a full arms ban on Israel, and 87 percent back a trade embargo on settlement goods. Both Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham have previously called for Labour to do more for Palestine. Streeting went further, accusing Israel of war crimes and circulating a dossier from British doctors in Gaza to cabinet — a move that drew Starmer's sharp disapproval. Yet neither candidate has committed to specific action.
Brian Brivati of the British Palestine Project sees the alignment clearly. The departure of Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's Downing Street gatekeeper, removes a figure whose career was built on linking Corbynism to antisemitism. The contrast between Labour's assertiveness on Ukraine and its paralysis on Palestine has become a political liability. With the Trump peace initiative stalled and more than 900 dead since the ceasefire, Brivati said a sea change inside government would be 'extraordinary' not to expect.
Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, broke ranks with unusual directness at a British Palestine Project conference. Labour had failed the Palestinians, she said. Statehood recognition last autumn was a first step — but where were the steps that followed? Her remarks drew heckling when she identified as a Zionist, but they reflected a wider frustration that the party had simply gotten the politics wrong.
The measures under active discussion are concrete: a full trade ban on Israeli goods, restrictions on settlement trade, publication of the government's response to the 2024 ICJ ruling on occupation, and urgent action to prevent British and European firms from bidding on contracts in the E1 settlement corridor — a development that would effectively sever the northern West Bank from the south. This week's government response — settler sanctions and a new peace fund — was dismissed by activists as inadequate.
Former Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy argued that what constrains Israeli decision-making is not symbolic sanctions on Netanyahu, but cultural and economic isolation — signals to Israeli society that the cost of occupation is rising. Former British consul general Vincent Fean framed it geopolitically: Europe has surrendered diplomatic leadership on Palestine to Trump and must reclaim it, with Britain at the front.
The leadership race will determine whether this moment becomes a genuine pivot or another round of what one observer called 'vacuous press releases.' The Green Party has already called for the release of imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti. The question is whether Labour, under new leadership, will move from rhetoric into the harder work of actually constraining what Israel can do — and what it can get away with.
The British pro-Palestine movement is sensing an opening. With Keir Starmer's departure from Number 10 looming and a leadership race underway, activists believe the Labour party is poised to fundamentally reshape its approach to Israel and Gaza—a shift they see written in the electoral arithmetic of recent local elections, in internal party polling, and in the careful words of the two frontrunners to replace him.
The Green surge in those local elections has not gone unnoticed by Labour MPs. Neither has the data: 78 percent of Labour party members support a complete ban on arms shipments to Israel, while 87 percent back a trade embargo on goods from illegal settlements. These numbers matter in a leadership contest. Both Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham, the leading candidates to become prime minister, have previously called for Labour to do more for Palestine. Streeting has gone further, accusing Israel of war crimes and circulating a dossier from British doctors working in Gaza to cabinet—a move that drew sharp criticism from Starmer, who suspected it was meant to be leaked. Yet neither candidate has yet spelled out what concrete steps they would actually take.
Brian Brivati, executive director of the British Palestine Project, sees the pieces aligning. The departure of Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's gatekeeper in Downing Street, removes a figure who built his reputation linking Jeremy Corbyn to antisemitism allegations. The electoral math is now impossible to ignore. The contrast between Labour's assertive stance on Ukraine and its caution on Palestine has become a liability. And the Trump administration's peace initiative has stalled entirely, leaving more than 900 people dead in Gaza since the ceasefire began. "There is a sea change about to happen inside government," Brivati said, "and it would be extraordinary if there was not."
Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, broke ranks last week with unusually blunt language. Labour had failed the Palestinians, she said. Recognition of Palestinian statehood last autumn was merely a first step—but where were the second and tenth steps? "What is happening inside Gaza is intolerable yet we tolerate it," she said. The government has not used its diplomatic leverage to break the deadlock over Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawal, even as the West Bank faces potential partition within months. Her remarks, delivered at a British Palestine Project conference, drew heckling when she identified herself as a Zionist, but they reflected a broader frustration among Labour MPs that the party had simply gotten the politics wrong.
The practical measures under discussion are specific. A full trade ban on Israeli goods. A ban on settlement trade. Publication of the government's response to the 2024 International Court of Justice ruling on the illegality of occupation. Urgent action to prevent British and European firms from bidding on contracts in the E1 settlement area, a development that would sever the northern West Bank from the south. This week, the government instead imposed sanctions on settler groups and launched a new international peace fund—moves that activists view as insufficient.
Vincent Fean, a former British consul general in Jerusalem, framed the stakes differently: Europe has ceded diplomatic control of the Palestinian issue to Trump and must reclaim it. Britain should lead that effort. Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator, argued that Labour needs to think strategically about what constrains Israeli decision-making. Sanctions on Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are mere badges of honor for them, he said. What matters is cultural and economic isolation—the things that signal to Israeli society that the cost of occupation is rising. "We are witnessing the tectonic plates shifting," Levy said.
For now, the activists wait. The leadership race will determine whether this moment becomes a genuine pivot or another cycle of concern expressed in what one observer called "vacuous press releases." The Green party has already called for the release of Marwan Barghouti, an imprisoned Palestinian political leader. The question is whether Labour, under new leadership, will move beyond rhetoric into the harder work of constraining what Israel can do and what it can get away with.
Notable Quotes
There is a sea change about to happen inside government and it would be extraordinary if there was not— Brian Brivati, executive director of the British Palestine Project
What is happening inside Gaza is intolerable yet we tolerate it— Emily Thornberry, chair of Labour's foreign affairs select committee
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why do activists think now is different? Labour has been cautious on this issue for years.
Because the political ground has shifted beneath them. The Greens took votes in local elections, and Labour members are telling pollsters they want a full arms ban. A leadership race means candidates have to listen to the party base in ways a sitting prime minister doesn't.
But Streeting and Burnham haven't actually said what they'd do differently.
No, they haven't. That's the gap. They've signaled sympathy, but they haven't committed to concrete policy. The activists are reading the room and betting that a new leader will feel the pressure to act.
What would "acting" actually look like?
A trade ban on Israeli goods. Blocking British firms from bidding on settlement projects. Publishing the government's response to the court ruling on occupation. Things that would genuinely constrain Israeli economic activity, not just symbolic gestures.
Is there any chance this doesn't happen?
Yes. A new leader could decide the political cost is too high, or that the diplomatic complications aren't worth it. The activists are hopeful, but they're not certain. They're reading signals, not guarantees.
What's the Trump factor in all this?
The peace plan has gone nowhere. That failure actually strengthens the case for Britain to step in with its own diplomatic approach. If Trump's initiative is stalled, there's space for others to act.