Write to your MP
Posted: 31st August 2025
The British Government is taking a positive step by recognising the state of Palestine on 22 September at the UN General Assembly, along with France, Australia, Canada, Portugal and others. How the UK reached this point will not matter, come the day.
Recognition matters, for the reasons set out in the draft below. But it does not address the current crisis of famine in Gaza. Our Parliament resumes work on 1 September.
So we ask you to consider writing to your MP now, making two points: yes to recognition, no to man-made famine in Gaza.
With best wishes,
Trustee, Britain Palestine ProjectEmail your MP
Dear [MP’s name],
I warmly welcome our Government’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly on 22 September, and ask you please to convey this letter and my thanks to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. It is a big step in the right direction.
Recognition of Palestine alongside Israel reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to national self-determination, and embodies parity of esteem for both peoples – Palestinian and Israeli – long overdue on the part of the United Kingdom. Those peoples merit equal rights: the only just way to resolve this conflict.
Recognition of the State of Palestine – East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank and Gaza – encourages the many people in Israel and in Palestine working for peaceful coexistence. In no way is it a reward for Hamas terror. Our Government joins over 150 of the 193 UN member states in recognising Palestine. Anti-Semitism must be fought against whenever it occurs, but it is a nonsense to allege that three quarters of our world is anti-Semitic because it acknowledges the rights of Palestinians to freedom, peace and justice.
By recognising Palestine, our Government joins those who reject the policies of oppression, deliberate starvation, mass destruction, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and illegal colonisation which the Government of Israel continues to inflict on the Palestinian people. Rightly, the UK is working with Palestinians to reunite Gaza and the West Bank, and to encourage free and fair elections. Accompanying recognition there must be a series of measures to address the dire situation on the ground in Palestine, and to offer both peoples a credible alternative to what we now witness daily.
Man-made famine in Gaza must stop, now. It is for governments to choose the most effective ways to end it. Simply calling for an unconditional ceasefire, hostage release and unrestricted aid – all needed – has not worked. Our Government and our international partners need to heed their people and act, together, today. No more deliberate starvation. If confrontation with the Israeli Government is needed to stop the famine, so be it.
Yours sincerely