Pro-Palestine groups, Labour MPs and party activists have welcomed Andy Burnham’s apology over Labour’s response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, while calling on the party leadership contender to back his words with “decisive action”.
Burnham, who is expected to become Labour leader and Britain’s next prime minister in the coming days, said earlier this week that Labour “didn’t get it right” and that it must now do more.
“I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right, and I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better,” Burnham said.
Burnham said the “unbearable suffering” in Gaza was a “scar on our collective conscience”.
He also criticised Israel’s ever-expanding occupation of territory in Gaza, adding: “We’ve got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government.”
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Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, said Burnham’s remarks were “extremely welcome”.
Meanwhile, Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, said it was “an important and much-needed first step”.
Rupa Huq, parliamentarian for Ealing Central and Acton, said: “High time this is acknowledged and glad something will be done about it.”
The Labour Muslim Network wrote on X: “A huge and important intervention from the potential next leader of the Labour party.”
‘Strengthen our approach’
A former mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham returned to parliament last month in a by-election in Makerfield. MPs are scheduled to assemble this month to nominate their next leader.
In his remarks, Burnham applauded Keir Starmer’s government for recognising Palestine, imposing sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers, and imposing a ban on “British bombs and/or bullets” going to Israel.
“We have taken some important steps,” he said. “But let’s be honest, the UK was too slow to call for a ceasefire. And we must now do more to strengthen our approach.”
“Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement. We are seeing a surge in settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” he said. “Netanyahu’s government is clearly attempting to make a two-state solution impossible.”
‘Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement … Netanyahu’s government is clearly attempting to make a two-state solution impossible’
– Andy Burnham
He vowed to look at further sanctions on Israeli settlers and banning trade with Israeli settlements.
Burnham refused to weigh in on whether Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
“There is increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed,” Burnham said, but added it was for “international courts, and not politicians, to decide”.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), one of the largest activist organisations in the UK, said Burnham’s apology must be followed by “decisive action”.
It said that a UN commission of inquiry had last month confirmed Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, along with rights groups and experts.
“You have stated that this is something for the international courts to decide, but the Genocide Convention requires all states – including Britain – to take action to prevent genocide as soon as they become aware there is a serious risk of it,” PSC wrote in a letter to Burnham.
It added that the UK had actively supported Israeli crimes and was “willfully ignoring rulings of the courts”, including the ICJ’s judgement that Israeli occupation of Palestine is unlawful, and that other states must cease actions that aid or assist Israeli violations.
The campaign group called on Burnham to recognise the UN commission’s findings that Israel has committed genocide, and to adopt Labour conference’s policy from 2025 to impose sanctions and a full arms embargo on Israel.
It also called for a ban on all trade with illegal Israeli settlements and any trade that assists Israeli occupation, and for the reversal of “the authoritarian use of public order and anti-terror legislation to suppress protest in support of Palestinian rights”.
The United Nations and dozens of rights groups and human rights experts have recognised Israel’s war on the enclave as genocide, where over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed.
