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Where does Labour’s new Foreign Secretary David Lammy stand on Israel?

The MP for Tottenham has backed the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu and called for the proscription of Iran’s IRCG

July 5, 2024 16:28
Lammy
David Lamm in Beirut during a visit to Lebanon (Getty Images)
2 min read

When the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan KC, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant of causing starvation in Gaza, Rishi Sunak moved swiftly to condemn the arrest warrants.

But David Lammy, Shadow Foreign Secretary at the time, supported the ICC’s decision. “Democracies who believe in the rule of law must submit themselves to it,” he said

Lammy’s support for Israel has shifted since October 7, as for many in the Labour party. Shortly after the Hamas attacks, Lammy signed a statement on behalf of the Labour front bench, condemning the massacre as “unprovoked”.

On October 10, he spoke at a Labourr Friends of Israel event, where he said: ”We stand here as Labour Friends of Israel – but I have to say I am proud to live in a country where it doesn’t matter if you are Labour, Liberal Democrat or you are Conservative to stand with the people of Israel”.