‘Appalling position’: Netizens blast UK’s denial of Israeli genocide in Gaza

Outrage erupted online after the British government formally denied that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, with human rights activists, politicians, and commentators condemning the decision as an appalling stance against evidence and humanity.

David Lammy, Britain’s foreign secretary until Friday, wrote in a September 1 letter to a parliamentary committee that the government had “carefully considered” the question of genocide and concluded that the Israeli regime is not committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza despite appalling civilian suffering.

“As per the Genocide Convention, 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’,” Lammy said in the letter seen by Reuters.

Human rights and anti-war campaigners immediately took to social media platforms, condemning the British government for ignoring the findings of global genocide experts and major human rights organizations.

Scottish Member of Parliament Brian Leishman pointed to the scale of suffering in Gaza over almost two years, saying it is visible to anyone paying attention.

“Anybody with a television, a radio, access to newspapers or a shred of humanity can see for themselves that Netanyahu and his extremist regime is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Author Monisha Rajesh warned that official recognition of genocide would compel UK leaders, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Lammy, “to answer for aiding and abetting war crimes” at The Hague.

Author and activist Andrew Feinstein said London is being influenced by political and financial interests, citing British arms companies and Starmer’s unwavering support for Israel.

“I’m sure this is unrelated to the huge money being made by British arms firms & our political class out of the genocide, or that Keir Starmer is, in his own words, ‘a Zionist without qualification’,” he wrote.

Gerhard Kemp, professor of international criminal law, said that by rejecting the risk of genocide, the UK effectively absolves itself of any responsibility to act.

“This position is appalling,” Kemp tweeted, “and flies in the face of the evidence presented at the ICJ (International Court of Justice) and the UN Security Council earlier this year.”

Human rights organizations and campaign groups also echoed these calls, citing the human cost of Israel’s devastating war on the Gaza Strip.

One British NGO defending Palestinian rights challenged London’s stance, writing on X, “So killing tens of thousands of Palestinians isn’t genocide? So targeting journalists, doctors & children isn’t genocide? So starving innocent people, bombing hospitals, and blocking aid isn’t genocide?”

Some MPs described the denial of genocide as a historical misjudgment.

Sorcha Eastwood, MP for Lagan Valley, said London’s official position would “be seen and read by those in the future as a stain upon the UK and how the government dissembled in the face of a complete humanitarian crisis, forced famine, inhumane bombing and, yes, genocide.”

X user R warned that history would record the UK government as complicit in genocide. R said in 2000 years, Lammy’s letter “will be seen in history textbooks all around the world.”

“This government IS arming a genocide,” R wrote. “Children are dying. Babies are perishing. Hospitals are being eviscerated to the ground. Action must happen.”

Another user, Severin, described Lammy’s statements as deliberate distortion, saying the government has “predetermined that Israel has never done anything wrong and will twist it that way no matter what happens or is said.”

UK-based anti-genocide organization The Muslim Vote also wrote in a message on X that by “insisting that there is no genocide,” the British government’s stance amounted to manipulation of facts.

“Despite overwhelming civilian deaths and destruction, it’s not analysis. It’s gaslighting.”

And former trade union advisor Karl Hansen said Lammy’s final act as foreign secretary “was the UK government’s official denial of the Gaza genocide.”

Lammy was foreign secretary from mid-2024 until Friday, when he was replaced by Yvette Cooper and appointed deputy prime minister as part of a reshuffle.

His controversial letter came in response to Sarah Champion, the chair of the British Parliament’s International Development Committee, who demanded answers on how Britain’s policy of the continued supply of F-35 fighter jet parts that have indirectly been sent to Israel complied with its international duty to prevent genocide.

In September 2024, Starmer’s government suspended 30 of 350 arms export licenses after finding a clear risk of violations of international humanitarian law — but F-35 parts, central to the bombing campaign in Gaza, were exempted.

Reports show that his government authorized approximately $160 million in arms exports to Israel between October and December 2024, according to strategic export licensing records.