₦airaland Forum

By MATHILDA HELLER SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 00:22


The British Government has determined that Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the chair of the international development committee in a letter on September 1.

The new ruling differs significantly from the government's previous position, which was that only courts can decide whether or not Israel is committing genocide.


This differs significantly from the government's previous position, which was that only courts can decide whether Israel is or is not committing genocide. It also marks the first time the UK government has stated explicitly that Israel's actions in Gaza do not count as genocide.

In the letter to Sarah Champion, Lammy, who was the foreign secretary at the time of writing, acknowledged that the UK government has the duty to prevent genocide under Article I of the Genocide Convention (1948) if it believes there is a serious risk of genocide occurring. This position is in line with the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

UK Government carefully considered the risk of genocide in Israel during its preparations for the Al Haq vs F-35 court case, Lammy said.

While he stated that the situation in Gaza is "utterly appalling" and Israel "must do much more to prevent and alleviate the suffering that this conflict is causing," he wrote that it does not meet the threshold for genocide under the Genocide Convention.

The convention states that "the crime of genocide occurs only 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," Lammy stated.
British government rules Israel is not committing genocide
While the ICJ did warn of risks of genocide, to date, it has not found Israel to be in breach of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, nor has it found Israel to be committing genocide.
“The British Government has now been forced to admit that the hateful rhetoric frequently published about Israel committing genocide is false," Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Ellis KC, former Attorney General for England and Wales, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. He criticized the fact that the admission was buried in an "obscure letter released at midnight on a Friday during a ministerial reshuffle in the hope no one would notice."

Neverthless, "it is now confirmed that the UK Government has concluded that Israel is not committing ‘genocide’," he saids. "There has never been any evidence of such a thing, but this irresponsible Government persists in repeating the slurs and ramping up hatred and diplomatic attacks against Israel. It also shamefully fails to hold Hamas terrorists to account and thus helps to prolong the conflict in the Middle East”."

F-35 program
Lammy's letter also discussed the importance of maintaining F-35 parts exports.
"We are facing a critical moment for European security and war on our continent and the Government has a duty to consider the full implications of all arms export decisions," he said. "The F-35 partnership is the largest defence programme in the world with over 1,000 F-35 aircraft in service globally. Undermining the programme would significantly disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defence."

"It is for that reason alone that we took the decision to continue exporting to the global programme," he continued, noting that the UK has, however, stopped direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel.

Only terrorists and their supporters say otherwise.

It’s not a genocide but holocaust..

The Palestinian holocaust does not need a court in the UK for validation.

Ruling is confined to their OWN jurisdictions ONLY

CoronaVirusPro:
It’s not a genocide but holocaust..

The Palestinian holocaust does not need a court in the UK for validation.

Ruling is confined to their OWN jurisdictions ONLY

You can cry harder dude...

It's allowed and your tears are always welcome

This Gaza war has exposed the incompetence of Arab/Muslim leaders. The smartest thing they could have done was to ensure that Hamas release all the hostages. This is because no court or competent body will find Israel culpable of any crime as long as Hamas held the hostages. That's why Israel and Netanyahu govt are not serious about getting the hostages out of Gaza. Netanyahu knows that he will have no other reason to attack Hamas if all the hostages are freed.

MRSALT:
This Gaza war has exposed the incompetence of Arab/Muslim leaders. The smartest thing they could have done was to ensure that Hamas release all the hostages. This is because no court or competent body will find Israel culpable of any crime as long as Hamas held the hostages. That's why Israel and Netanyahu govt are not serious about getting the hostages out of Gaza. Netanyahu knows that he will have no other reason to attack Hamas if all the hostages are freed.

Yes!

As much as Gazans/Hamas detest Israel, so also does Israelis detests Gazans; and holding the hostages gives Israelis the opportunity to unleash the long craved destruction of Palestine. "Arab world lack wisdom here".