Liberal Democrats back immediate UK arms sale ban to Israel amid war in Gaza

London (Quds News Network)- Britain’s Liberal Democrat party passed a motion on Monday in favor of suspending arms exports to Israel, backing an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and recognizing a Palestinian state.

At its annual conference in Brighton, the motion, which was tabled by British-Palestinian MP Layla Moran, passed by the party with an overwhelming majority and also called for Hamas to be ousted from Gaza “through diplomacy”.

Moran said she had worked with both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups to formulate the motion, which may explain its mixture of positions, Jewish News reported, adding “only a two state solution will deliver security and dignity” for both peoples.

She said, “We also want a stronger stance on the export of British arms when there are suspected human rights abuses.”

The motion noted “the ongoing humanitarian devastation in Gaza, where now over 40,000 Palestinians are now estimated to have been killed and vast numbers have life-changing injuries”.

It also condemned Iran, claiming it “continues to destabilize the region including via its Revolutionary Guards, its supply of arms to its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, and the military responses which it threatens against Israel”.

It advocated for a “political and diplomatic” rather than military solution to “get Hamas out of power”.

On arms exports to Israel, the motion backed more extensive restrictions than those brought in by the Labour government earlier this month, when 30 out of 350 arms exports were suspended.

The Liberal Democrats voted for “immediately suspending arms exports to Israel, in accordance with similar decisions taken by previous UK governments of all political parties”.

And the party called on Britain to follow other European countries by “immediately recognising the state of Palestine”.

Members also affirmed the party’s support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ), “including respecting in full the ICJ advisory opinion that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and upholding its findings”.

However, the motion did not label Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide, unlike the Green Party’s motion earlier this month.

The conference comes after the Liberal Democrats made significant gains in July’s general election, growing their seats in parliament from 15 MPs to 72. The party’s manifesto backed a ceasefire in Gaza and a suspension of arms to Israel.

Party leader Ed Davey told journalists he was optimistic about the party’s future, having arrived at the conference on a jet ski.

At a conference fringe event held by the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP) on Sunday, ICJP director Tayab Ali told participants that “Israel’s decades-long belligerent occupation, combined with this new far-right dogma, led directly to the explosion of violence on 7 October”.

Zomlot said it was “the British Empire that started this entire issue in the first place, giving away our land without even consulting us. It is the UK that needs to own this responsibility”.

That evening, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper spoke at a reception hosted by the LDFP and the ICJP, describing the situation in Gaza as a “humanitarian catastrophe” and backing a “two-state solution”.