Middle East conflict

May 2026

Donald Trump’s & Benjamin Netanyahu’s illegal war in Iran has unleashed chaos across the region and will only lead to more bloodshed without delivering freedom for Iranians. We are unequivocally opposed to the Iranian regime - but are strongly of the opinion that diplomatic & economic levers should be our primary means of forcing it to abandon its nuclear aspirations - something arguably achieved by the Obama administration until the previous administration’s accord with Iran was ripped up in Trump’s latest fit of pique.

This illegal military action, backed uncritically by the Conservatives & Reform, and Iran’s reckless response, has endangered Britons and our allies. Meanwhile, the economic consequences of Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz are compounding  the cost-of-living crisis. It is deeply frustrating that - whilst illegal - Iran’s response was predictable and would have been avoided by just about any former occupant of the White House. President Trump’s failure to think through the consequences of his actions and consult with allies is yet another example of his manifest unfitness for office. 

In Lebanon, Israel’s military operations are compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis. Over 1,200 people have been killed during the latest phase of fighting, including at least 121 children and 42 health workers - while more than a million people have been displaced. While the conflicts in Iran & Lebanon have deepened, the humanitarian crisis across Palestine has continued to deteriorate, in parallel with settler violence increasing in the West Bank - facilitated by an Israeli government intent on permitting further land grabs and a Knesset that stooped to a new low in legislating for the capital punishment of Palestinians. 

I wanted to comment on a number of specific areas I have been contacted about over the last few months: 

The recognition of Palestine

My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I, wrote to the Foreign Secretary in June 2025 calling for immediate recognition of Palestine as a state. Liberal Democrats are committed to a two-state solution as the only viable path to lasting peace and security for both Israelis & Palestinians. I am strongly supportive of this.

Sanctions

Liberal Democrats have also demanded sanctions against Prime Minister Netanyahu & Defence Minister Katz, Finance Minister Smotrich & National Security Minister Ben-Gvir for war crimes in Gaza, and were the first major UK-wide party to call for a full ban on military exports to Israel whilst the conflict continues.

Aid & reconstruction

We have consistently called for all aid routes into Gaza to be fully reopened. I am concerned key materials & supplies are still not making their way into many areas and the war with Iran has led to additional price rises. Reconstruction is not taking place and I will write to the Foreign Office to ask for an update on this specific area of concern. 

West Bank occupation & annexations

Liberal Democrats called for immediate sanctions on Israeli Cabinet members involved in illegal settlement expansion, a full ban on trade with illegal settlements, & recognition these settlements are a major obstacle to a two-state solution. We also call on the Government to publish its response to the 2024 ICJ ruling Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories to be illegal. 

Palestinian Prisoners and death penalty laws in Israel

I am aware of concerns over the treatment of prisoners held in Israel, particularly with regard to detention without charge & the potential use of torture. Israel's parliament has also approved a law that would make the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of deadly terror attacks. The passage of this law is an affront to fairness and the rule of law. It appears to have been introduced simply to appease far-right Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. There are longstanding concerns about the unfair conduct of military courts which contravene Israel's obligations under international law.

War Crimes

The Commission of Inquiry has previously stated Palestinian armed groups & Israel have committed war crimes and other grave violations of international law on and after 7 October 2023. When asked by journalists in September if he would consider using the word genocide to describe Israel's actions in Gaza, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said: "It's for the court to decide whether it's genocide or not, and we see the evidence mounting." A spokesman for the UK government also said the decision was up to a court, but added this "does not take away from our position that Israel's actions are appalling".

Liberal Democrats have consistently called for journalists & human rights experts to be granted access to assess the evidence, something I strongly support.

As a lawyer I believe in l the rule of international law and support the approach of Volker Türk. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently hearing a case brought by South Africa that will determine whether Israeli forces have committed genocide. I understand the frustration at the time this is taking, but without due process it will be impossible to deliver the justice so long denied to the peoples of Palestine.

October 2025 

Significant steps have been made towards a halt to the devastation in Gaza in recent weeks. Although any chance of an end to the bloodshed is hugely welcome I felt Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s international editor, recent comments on the current situation were insightful. I have included a link to his comments made on 16th October on the Today Programme which you may find interesting. 

The recent ceasefire announcement for Gaza brings real hope - for the millions of Palestinians whose lives have been devastated by this war, for the hostages who've been released, and for the families of the deceased hostages many of whom are still awaiting the return of their bodies. At this critical moment, the UK & our allies must do all we can to move things forward and secure a full reopening of aid routes into Gaza under the auspices of the UN to alleviate the suffering of starving Palestinians, and secure a permanent end to the horrific violence. 

However as Jeremy Bowen made clear there is a huge amount to be done before peace can be achieved. The reports of continued killing of Palestinians by both the Israeli Defence Force and Hamas are an outrage and underline how far the region still remains from achieving a just and permanent settlement.   

The Liberal Democrats obviously welcome any progress towards securing an end to the war. However Trump’s plan for peace is nothing like the full road-map necessary to achieve the two-state solution that we and the government continue to believe is the only means of achieving a lasting peace and does not, for example, even address the illegal settlement expansion across the West Bank.

We have therefore called on the government to put all of its efforts into securing a new & permanent ceasefire. Anything less to bring about an end to the immense human suffering in Gaza would be a moral failure. We continue to call for the introduction of a law prohibiting trade between the UK and illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as well as the sanctioning of Israeli Ministers who advocate for the illegal displacement of Palestinians. It is utterly wrong for the UK to do anything to support the sustainability or development of those unlawful settlements.The UK must also do everything we can to ensure Hamas have no role in the future of the territory, nor act as a blocker to achieving the peace, dignity & security which both Israelis & Palestinians deserve, need & desperately desire.

I welcome these steps towards a fragile ceasefire -  but an end to the violence is far from guaranteed. We must now work with our international allies to bring about a lasting peace in the region. These recent steps could support progress towards a two-state solution but there is much work still to be done.

August 2025

I continue to share your deep concern & condemnation of the Israeli Government’s actions, both through expanding its military operations there and in continuing its utterly abhorrent blockade of the Gaza Strip. I also support the UK Government's recent decision to summon Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely with regard to the approval of a major settlement in the West Bank. The E1 settlement east of Jerusalem, would effectively cut the West Bank in two and will do nothing but prolong the suffering in the region.

Last month, I was proud to add my name to Sarah Champion MP’s cross party letter calling on the UK to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN Conference in New York on 28 & 29 July. With 255 MPs from nine parties signing, it shows that support for Palestinian statehood cuts across the traditional political divides in Parliament. You can read Sarah’s letter here.

That followed a letter sent to the Foreign Secretary in June in which all 72 Liberal Democrat MPs had already (https://bsky.app/profile/calummillerld.bsky.social/post/3lrpldy3x2k2y), called for the immediate recognition of a Palestine state. 

Recognition will clearly not solve all, or even many of, the challenges in Gaza or the West Bank, but it is a vital step toward a just and lasting peace. The Liberal Democrats have consistently led the way, calling for a suspension of military sales to Israel and urging immediate recognition of Palestine. This is about standing with the Palestinian & Israeli people seeking a just peace and keeping hope alive for a two state solution. 

July 2025

On Gaza, I condemn the Israeli Government’s actions, both through expanding its military operations there & in continuing its utterly abhorrent blockade of the Strip. I shared my thoughts in my latest column in the Wimbledon Guardian, which you can read here.
 
My Party’s consistent objectives since the breakdown of talks in March has been a resumption of the ceasefire, the release of all hostages, unhindered access for aid to enter & be distributed to those who desperately need it in Gaza and measures to promote dialogues and meaningful progress to  a two-state solution which is the only feasible means of promoting  long-term peace between Israel & Palestine. To maintain pressure on the Government to do more, I recently supported a Parliamentary Motion put forward by my Party Leader, Sir Ed Davey, calling on the Government to go much further and faster in applying pressure to the Israeli Government. You can see the EDM here.

The actions of Prime Minister Netanyahu & his Cabinet - both in blocking aid to Gaza and expanding military action with a view to taking over the entire Strip - have gravely undermined progress towards these goals.

That’s why I was relieved to see the Government taking a step forward in holding the Israeli Government accountable earlier in May. After months of strong words but insufficient action,  from the Labour leadership, they have moved to suspend progress towards a new free trade agreement with Israel & will be reviewing the 2030 UK-Israel Bilateral Roadmap.

Liberal Democrats have been clear, however, this action remains wholly insufficient in the face of the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. We are demanding the Government does everything in its power, urgently, to enable aid to reach those whose lives depend on it in Gaza, to ensure the UK is not complicit in the grotesque use of starvation as a tool of war by the Netanyahu Government.

Our Government also needs to go much further - to prevent further violations of international law in Gaza and to show every Israeli minister who advocates the dispossession of Palestinians they too will be held accountable.

That’s why Liberal Democrats are continuing to call for:
 

• An immediate ban on the export of all UK weapons to Israel - including component parts for F-35 planes - to ensure no UK arms can be used to perpetrate human rights abuses.
   
• The UK Government to legislate to stop all trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories, to ensure the UK does not contribute to the growth of settlements.
   
• The immediate recognition of a Palestinian state, affirming the right of Palestinians to self-determination and recognising only a two-state solution will deliver security and dignity to both Palestinians & Israelis.
   
• Imposition of further sanctions on Israeli politicians and settlers - implicated in the ongoing breaches of international humanitarian law. 

The expansion of the Israeli Government’s military activity in Gaza is disgraceful. It is already bringing further devastation for Palestinians, who have already endured 16 months of war. Nor is it clear military action will do anything to support getting the 58 remaining hostages back to Israel. Diplomacy & negotiations have been the only consistently successful route through which those in Hamas’ captivity have made it home.

In his response to the Government on Tuesday 20th May, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Calum Miller pressed the Government on when it will finally recognise the Israeli Government’s actions constitute “an actual breach of international law”, rather than just the ‘risk’ of a breach which the Government has so far maintained.

Calum has also written to the Foreign Secretary, calling on the Government to commit to the following additional measures in the event that Prime Minister Netanyahu & his Cabinet continues military action and refuses to comprehensively lift its aid blockade:

• Consider sanctions on other Members of the Knesset from the Otzma Yehudit and Mafdal–Religious Zionism parties, including:

  - Minister of Settlement and National Missions, Orit Strook, who claimed in April 2024 “there is no such thing as a Palestinian people". 

  - Minister of Heritage, Amihai Eliyahu, who said in November 2023 that “nuking Gaza” was a possible policy solution - which he later claimed was “metaphorical”. 

  - Minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev, and the Galilee, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, who said in April 2024 rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza would represent a “total victory” for Israel.

   

• Confirm any Ministers in the Israeli Cabinet who mirror the language of Ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and Katz and call for the dispossession of Palestinians should be sanctioned.
   
• Declare the prospect of sanctions remain on the table for any Ministers in the Israeli Cabinet who oppose the comprehensive lifting of the aid blockade.

I am absolutely committed to continuing to push the Government to adopt Liberal Democrat proposals which would, if implemented, apply genuine pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to lift his blockade and stop his destructive military campaign.

December 2024