UK has ‘Not Concluded’ Israel is Committing Genocide in Gaza – Lammy

September 9, 2025 News
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. (Photo: Policy Exchange, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

David Lammy said the government had “carefully considered” the question of genocide, “including when permiting exports to the F-35 global progamme”.

The UK government has “not concluded” that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and denied that it was “arming” the ongoing military operation, according to a government letter.

In a letter dated September 1 but reported by media on Monday, then Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, wrote: “As per the genocide convention the crime of genocide only occurs where there is ‘specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group’. The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”

His letter came in response to Sarah Champion, the chair of the British Parliament’s International Development Committee, who demanded answers on how Britain’s policy of the continued supply of F-35 fighter jet parts that have indirectly been sent to Israel complied with its international duty to prevent genocide.

F-35 Parts’ Exports

Lammy, who is now a deputy prime minister and justice minister since Friday’s Cabinet reshuffle, said the government had “carefully considered” the question of genocide, “including when permitting exports to the F-35 global progam”.

It marked a shift in UK policy, which has long pursued the question of whether Israel had committed genocide, a matter for the courts and not for national governments to determine, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Hamish Falconer, the minister for the Middle East, said in May that it is the UK government’s longstanding position that any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred is “a matter for a competent court, not for governments or non-judicial bodies.”

However, in the letter, Lammy said that a Foreign Office assessment had concluded that Israel’s actions did not constitute genocide.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in July that the UK will recognize the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly later this month unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to improve the situation in Gaza and commit to a peace process.

Lammy, however, noted that despite the government’s conclusion, Israel’s actions in Gaza are “utterly appalling,” adding that Israel “must do much more to prevent and alleviate the suffering that this conflict is causing.”

He also noted that the Foreign Office had carried out several assessments on the question of genocide, including when the government decided to exempt British-made parts for the F-35 jet from the suspension of some arms export licenses to Israel.

Suspension of Licenses

In September last year, the British government announced that it was suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel following a review that found a “clear risk” that some exports could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Lammy said the UK has “repeatedly recognised the horrors of the conflict in Gaza and has called upon Israel to comply with the Court’s orders.”

He added that the case is ongoing and the Court is yet to hear and rule on the merits.

“To date, the ICJ has neither found that Israel has breached its obligations under the Genocide Convention, nor ruled on the plausibility of Israel committing genocide,” Lammy stated. “Accordingly, we do not consider that the ICJ’s Provisional Measures Orders should be regarded as creating an awareness of a serious risk of genocide.”

Herzog Due in London

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, is reportedly expected to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his scheduled visit to London this week.

British Health Secretary Wes Streeting reportedly said Herzog “needs to answer the allegations of war crimes, of ethnic cleansing and of genocide that are being levelled at the government of Israel.”

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According to the Telegraph, he told Times Radio that “I think he needs to explain how, when we have seen so much evidence of the atrocities being perpetrated by the Israeli army, how he can possibly claim the IDF (Israeli Army – PC) is the most moral army in the world.”

Streeting also reportedly said Herzog should “explain how, if it is not the intent of the government of Israel to perpetrate ethnic cleansing, how on earth does he think his Israeli government is going to achieve their stated aim of clearing Palestinians out of Gaza without war crimes, without ethnic cleansing or even without genocide?”

Genocide Scholars’ Declaration

The world’s leading organization of scholars studying genocide passed a resolution earlier this month declaring that Israel’s “policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition” of genocide.

Israel is Guilty of Genocide in Gaza, Says World Body of Genocide Scholars

The resolution, supported by 86 percent of those who voted in the 500-member International  Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), referred to the genocide definition “in article II of the United Nations convention for the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (1948).”

“Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity as defined in international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” the three-page resolution, dated August 31, also declared.

Staggering Death Toll 

Since reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, Israel has continued its bloody aerial bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding thousands of Palestinians.

Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 64,500 Palestinians, with more than 163,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.

Israeli Army Orders Gaza City Evacuation amid Heavy Bombardment, Famine

In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.

Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

(PC, Anadolu)

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4 Comments

  1. What will it tske for the UK government to catch up with the facts. Do they think they know better than all the genocide experts who could not be clearer
    What did we do to deserve this
    government??

    • In Canada, the same: the PM Carney said “Palestine will never have a state unless it’s a Zionist state” then flipped to the NATO crew “we support a Palestinian state”, but not doing anything to stop the “Israeli” regime. PM Carney is a fine banker (seriously) but doesn’t seem to care about, you know, Genocide!

  2. Herzog will, as usual, say “Hamas, Hamas, Hamas, Antisemitism, Holocaust – I mean the “Israeli” Holocaust. Now, you may kiss my ass.” I cannot fathom people like Lammy – soulless? I understand Stermer – Ukrainian rent boys, blackmail, etc. But what does Lammy get out of vomiting “not genocide” bullshit?? Gold? Power? What??

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