How Keir Starmer supported Israel throughout its genocide in Gaza

What Happened

According to a Middle East Eye retrospective, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, both as opposition leader and in government, provided significant military and diplomatic support to Israel during the Gaza war. On 11 October 2023, Starmer told LBC that Israel had the right to cut off water and power to Gaza, a stance he later partially walked back. In opposition, he ordered Labour MPs not to back an SNP motion against collective punishment and lobbied Speaker Lindsay Hoyle to prioritize a Labour amendment over a ceasefire motion, causing parliamentary chaos. As prime minister, the UK Ministry of Defence conducted at least 518 spy flights over Gaza, sharing intelligence with Israel, and refused to release footage of strikes that killed British aid workers on 1 April 2024. The article also reports that around 2,000 British-Israeli dual nationals served in the Israeli military during the conflict. Later, the Starmer government diverged from Israel by dropping the UK's objection to ICC jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, sanctioning far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, and, in June 2026, announcing a ban on economic involvement in illegal settlements.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The article outlines how a key Western ally's policy on the Gaza war evolved, highlighting intelligence cooperation and diplomatic pressure that could influence accountability efforts and future UK-Israel relations, while also detailing domestic political fallout for Starmer's Labour Party.

Watch For

Monitor whether a new UK government reverses or continues settler sanctions and ICC support; the ICC's progress on arrest warrants; potential legal challenges over withheld intelligence footage; and any action regarding British-Israeli nationals serving in the IDF.