Shabana has written to constituents following news of government sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The Foreign Secretary has spoken of a changed approached. Instead of just calling out injustice and suffering, it is taking action.
Part of the changes include:
- A new ban on the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
- Recognising what is happening in the West Bank as ethnic cleansing and declaring the occupation unlawful.
- Supporting the legal processes looking into the increasing evidence of war crimes in Gaza.
In her letter, Shabana restates her advocacy for a just and peaceful two-state solution.
You can read the letter in full below.
Letter to constituents
Dear Resident
Throughout my life, I have supported the rights of Palestinians. When I became your MP, one of the first things I fought for was getting humanitarian aid into Gaza. For 16 years since, I have been fighting for a two-state solution and peace and justice in Palestine.
We are so far from that today. To date, over 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza. At least 20,000 are children. These numbers are incomprehensible. They are horrifying.
Last year, this Labour Government took the historic step of recognising the Palestinian state – a vital move to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive, at a time when the actions of this Israeli Government risk destroying the prospect altogether.
But we must also be honest. As the new Prime Minister has said, this is not enough.
That is why this week, when the new Foreign Secretary spoke in Parliament, our approach changed. Instead of just calling out injustice and suffering, we are now taking action.
I want you to hear, directly from me, about what is changing:
• Firstly, we are sanctioning the illegal, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, banning trade with them.
• Secondly, we are officially recognising what is happening in the West Bank as ethnic cleansing, and declaring the occupation unlawful.
• Thirdly, we are supporting the legal processes looking into the increasing evidence of apparent war crimes in Gaza.
This Labour Government refuses to be a bystander to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution. With this Labour Government, Britain is not silent in the face of deep injustice, nor is it powerless.
For two years, I have advocated for a just and peaceful, two-state solution – because I believe it is the right thing to do, and because I know so many of my constituents do too.
That is why having your voice at the Cabinet table matters. This is about actions, not words, in the fight against oppression and suffering wherever it occurs.
Just as we want Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side, we must live out those values ourselves. Muslims and Jews in Britain. People of all faiths and people of none. We all have a right to live without prejudice or fear.
Let our example in Birmingham show the way.
Yours sincerely
Shabana Mahmood MP
Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood
Home Secretary
