Nearly 60 British Labour MPs have called on the UK government to immediately recognize the State of Palestine and take urgent action to stop what they described as "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, The Guardian reported on Saturday. The letter, coordinated by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, was signed by 59 MPs from across the party's centrist and left-leaning blocs and addressed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday. In their message, the MPs condemned Israeli plans to construct what has been labeled a "humanitarian city" of tents in the devastated southern city of Rafah. They warned that the initiative represents a forced displacement of Palestinian civilians and a deliberate erasure of Palestinian identity. "It is with great urgency and concern that we are writing to you regarding the Israeli defence minister's announcement on Monday of his plans to forcibly transfer all Palestinian civilians in Gaza to a camp in the ruined city of Rafah without allowing them to leave," the MPs wrote. "This is ethnic cleansing." The lawmakers urged the government to restore funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), support the release of hostages, and impose a trade ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements located in the occupied West Bank. They also argued that continued refusal to recognize Palestinian statehood undermines the UK's own commitment to a two-state solution. "By not recognising [Palestine] as a state, we undermine our own policy of a two-state solution and set an expectation that the status quo can continue and see the effective erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory," the letter said. The UK's newly elected Labour government has not yet made any formal policy change regarding Palestinian statehood. The Gaza war has now entered its 10th month, with mass displacement, the destruction of essential infrastructure, and a collapse of ceasefire negotiations continuing to dominate international concern. — Agencies
