70 questions the UK government must answer about Gaza

06/07/2024. Keir Starmer hosts his first Cabinet. Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street

1. In May, the government claimed in court that it had not seen evidence of genocide in Gaza. Does the government still stand by this claim?
2. Do you accept that Israel’s actions in Palestine amount to “ethnic cleansing”?
3. Numerous groups and organisations have said there is clear evidence that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza. Why have you not come out and said this?
4. Before Labour assumed office last year, David Lammy urged the Foreign Office to publish its formal legal advice on whether Israel is breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza. Why hasn’t Labour done this now it’s in power? Are there plans to do so?
5. What assessments have been made about the legal position of government ministers themselves due to their support of Israel during a genocide? Has the prime minister received advice about the risks of being arrested and prosecuted?
6. In light of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), will the government confirm that it would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant if they were to come to the UK or enter UK airspace?
7. Why has the government still not responded to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 19 July 2024, which concluded that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful?
8. Government ministers (such as Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty) have previously spoken out about the genocide against the Rohingya, despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) not yet making a ruling about whether there is a genocide. Were these ministers wrong to describe this as a genocide without an ICJ ruling? If not, why does the government have different standards when it comes to Israel?
9. Why has the government not investigated British citizens fighting in the IDF for their potential complicity or involvement in war crimes?
10. Why has the UK government not publicly objected to the placement of sanctions on the International Criminal Court by the Trump administration? Does the UK support or oppose these sanctions?
11. In April 2024, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, was “privately threatened” by then foreign secretary David Cameron, who reportedly said he would defund and withdraw from the ICC if it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. Does the Labour government condemn the reported threats made by David Cameron? And can you confirm that no further threats have been made since then?
12. British barrister Andrew Cayler, who oversaw the ICC’s Palestine investigation, was informed by Dutch intelligence that he was at risk in The Hague, according to recent reports. Cayley said that he was told: “I was an enemy of Israel and that I should watch my back”. Is the UK government aware of these reports? How does it respond to them? And are measures being taken to protect British lawyers from alleged Israeli intimidation at the ICC?
13. Will the UK government agree to release the research report about Israel’s war conduct entitled “Long-Range Shootings or Shootings of Minors” which it withheld from court in May 2025? If not, why not?
14. Human Rights Watch and other organisations say they have verified that Israeli forces used white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon in 2023. Does the UK government accept this finding?
15. Why does the government oppose the establishment of an independent Gaza tribunal? What does it seek to hide?
16. The UK responded to the Ukraine war with sweeping sanctions against Russia and £13 billion in military support to Ukraine. Why has been such a vast disparity in the response to the situation in Gaza. Does the government not value Palestinian lives as much?
17. Does the UK government still consider Israel to be an ally?
18. Why hasn’t the government expelled Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK?
19. In 2023, Keir Starmer said Israel had the right to cut off water and power from Gaza. Does he still believe that Israel has this right?
20. Does the government believe that innocent Palestinian people have a right to defend themselves against Israeli military action itself?
21. Recently, ministers have been somewhat critical of some of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. So why does it continue to allow senior Israeli military officials to visit the UK, to meet their British counterparts?
22. Will the UK government continue to provide “special mission” certificates (conferring diplomatic immunity) to Israeli military and political figures visiting Britain, including those who have been actively engaged in the destruction of Gaza?
23. Does the government believe that Israeli military actions in Gaza will increase the threat of terrorism in the UK? What assessments have been made about this?
24. Why did the government refuse to condemn Israeli and US attacks on Iran in June which were widely seen as illegal? What further dangers to stability in the Middle East does it set when the UK refuses to condemn such violations of international law?
25. Why does the government refuse to ban the import into the UK of goods produced in Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, which the UK formally regards as illegal?
26. What efforts have been made to stop British companies profiting from the illegal settlements?
27. A few days after the government suspended free trade negotiations with Israel in May, Britain’s trade envoy to Israel visited the country to promote trade. Why is the UK conducting business as normal with a state committing genocide?
28. What possible reasonable argument can UK ministers make to not impose meaningful trade and financial sanctions on Israel during a genocide?
29. The RAF has sent more than 500 spy flights over Gaza since October 2023. Has the intelligence gathered led to the release of a single hostage? Have the flights resulted in any other tangible humanitarian benefits?
30. How many hostage rescue operations have ended in civilian deaths in Gaza after using UK-supplied intelligence?
31. Is the Gaza surveillance footage filmed by RAF flights livestreamed? If so, can the livestream be viewed by Israel or any other country?
32. What guarantees can the government provide that intelligence obtained from UK spy flights and shared with Israel could not be used for military purposes (even if that is not the UK’s stated intention)?
33. Has the UK government drawn on any Israeli intelligence to inform how RAF spy planes search for hostages over Gaza? If so, has any assessment been made about whether this intelligence has been obtained by Israeli forces through torture?
34. Why has the UK not shared intelligence gathered through RAF spy flights with the International Criminal Court, despite saying it was open to this possibility? If the ICC requests copies of this intelligence, will the UK government commit to sharing it?
35. The Ministry of Defence holds aerial surveillance footage of Gaza from the day that Israel killed seven international aid workers, including three British military veterans, in April 2024. Has the government made an assessment of whether the footage contains any evidence relating to this incident? And why is the government refusing to publish the tape, or even share it with the families of the British victims?
36. If a UK or international court requests a copy of RAF surveillance footage from the day that Israel killed seven international aid workers in April 2024, will the UK commit to sharing this information?
37. Documents from 2013, published by WikiLeaks, show that GCHQ “advocated that it work with [American intelligence services] and the Israeli SIGINT Service (ISNU) in a trilateral arrangement in prosecuting the Iranian target.” Is any such trilateral arrangement in place currently?
38. What intelligence or support does GCHQ Cyprus provide to Israel?
39. Why does the government refuse to acknowledge the existence of the GCHQ spy base in Oman, and what role is that base playing in support of UK military operations in the Middle East?
40. What MI6 or GCHQ intelligence-sharing schemes are ongoing with Israel? What guarantees can the government provide that British intelligence is not being used by Israel for military purposes?
41. The New York Times reported in June 2024 that a UK intelligence team was in Israel assisting Israel in collecting information related to the hostages. Is this team still in the country, and what is it doing?
42. Why have UK-based arms firms been allowed to export targeting equipment, radar systems, and other technology which could be used by Israeli forces in Gaza after the announcement of arms suspensions last year?
43. Why have UK-based drone engine manufacturers (namely RCV Engines in Dorset) been allowed to export engines for quadcopters manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries without apparently requiring any export licence?
44. Why did the UK government suspend arms licences for fighter jet components but continue to allow the export of parts which are used to train Israeli pilots to fly advanced fighter jets, including the F-35 and F-16?
45. What is the UK government’s estimation of the proportion of F-35 components produced in Britain which are onward-exported to Israel via third countries?
46. Will the government publish the specific arms licences that were restricted from export to Israel in September 2024? If not, why not?
47. Will the UK government implement an end-use monitoring system to ensure that arms exports to Israel marked for onward export to other countries are not in fact being transferred to Israeli forces?
48. Why has the UK allowed its airspace to be used to overfly military equipment destined for Israel? Does the UK government have an agreement with Israel which allows for military cargo and other military overflights?
49. What military equipment for Israel has been transferred from the UK’s military base in Cyprus since 7 October 2023?
50. Why does the government refuse to acknowledge that Israel possesses nuclear weapons? How many nuclear arms does it estimate Israel has and why does it not challenge it on this issue, as it does Iran?
51. Why did the government refuse for so long to disclose that Israeli soldiers were being trained in Britain?
52. Why was military training still being provided to Israeli soldiers as recently as July 2025, considering that Israel’s prime minister is under investigation by the International Criminal Court for war crimes? Will Israeli soldiers continue to be welcomed to Britain for future training courses?
53. For what purpose did Israeli military aircraft land at RAF Brize Norton in October and November 2024?
54. Why won’t the government publish the military agreement it signed with Israel in December 2020?
55. The British army’s information warfare unit, the 77th Brigade, secretly advised the Israeli military on psychological warfare techniques in 2018 and 2019. Has any more training or advice been provided since then?
56. In 2019-20, the UK developed a defence plan with Israel codenamed HEZUK. Is this programme still ongoing? If so, what does it involve?
57. In October 2023, the government’s ‘D-Notice’ committee asked media outlets not to report on an SAS deployment to Cyprus. Has the government deployed any further SAS teams to Cyprus or elsewhere in the region? And are any still there?
58. Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, David Lammy and many other Cabinet ministers were until recently supporters or officials within Labour Friends of Israel, despite never declaring it on the parliamentary Register of Interests. Why was this not declared? And are any cabinet ministers still members of the group?
59. Why does the government not require Labour Friends of Israel and Conservative Friends of Israel to declare who its funders are, considering that these groups fund so many MPs?
60. Do any cabinet ministers know the identity of Labour Friends of Israel’s major donors?
61. Labour Friends of Israel has been described as a “lobbying organisation” by its former director, David Mencer, who now works for Benjamin Netanyahu. Do the Labour Party and ministers agree with this description of the group?
62. Was the government lobbied by the Israeli embassy or any pro-Israel lobby groups to proscribe Palestine Action? If so, what impact did this have?
63. In June 2025, the government called for an “independent investigation” into the “mass casualty incidents in which Palestinians have been killed when trying to access aid sites in Gaza”. Who does the government think should lead this investigation? Will the government set up its own inquiry?
64. The UK has the ability to deliver enough aid to Gaza to prevent famine and starvation. Do you accept that the government is prioritising its political alliance with Israel over the fate of starving Palestinians?
65. The RAF conducted some aid drops into Gaza under the Conservative government, but no further aid drops happened under Labour until July 2025. If the government is genuinely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, why did it take more than a year in power to conduct another aid drop?
66. Israel has intercepted UK-flagged aid boats (including the ‘Madleen) destined for Gaza, while they were in international waters. Does the UK government accept that such interception is illegal under international law? Why has the government not condemned Israel’s interception?
67. What assessment has the government made about the very high numbers of Palestinians – including children – being detained in Israeli prisons without charge or trial? Why has the government not publicly condemned this?
68. What representations has the government made to Israel about Palestinians being detained without charge or trial, and the way they are treated in Israeli detention centres? Has this ever been raised by ministers?
69. Does the UK government accept that the Palestinians who have been detained and tortured by Israel without charge or trial are hostages?
70. How do you sleep at night?

Source: Declassified UK