However, Pritchard refused to criticise Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who questioned new British sanctions on Israeli settlers and a joint UK-France-Canada statement on Gaza this week
“Many more” Conservative MPs in the UK privately support calls by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and British allies for Israel to end its Gaza war, a Conservative MP has said. Mark Pritchard told LBC that Starmer is on the “right side of history” and “humanity,” The Independent reported on Saturday.
However, Pritchard refused to criticise Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who questioned new British sanctions on Israeli settlers and a joint UK-France-Canada statement on Gaza this week. The leaders of the three countries condemned “egregious” Israeli actions in Gaza and threatened to take “concrete actions” if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to change course.
In response, Netanyahu accused the UK, France and Canada of being on the “wrong side of justice.” Pritchard, who describes himself as strongly pro-Israel, told LBC: “Half the population of Gaza are children. They are being literally bombed to bits every single day. They are being slowly starved.
“It’s absolutely right the UK prime minister, who so happens to be a Labour prime minister right now, would stand up on the right side. “I push it back to the Israeli prime minister. I think Keir Starmer and those standing up for the children of Gaza are on the right side of history, the right side of humanity and are making the right moral judgment.”
Pritchard said he now believes in the necessity of Britain recognizing a Palestinian state. “It may be symbolic, but I think it will be a huge symbol of support both for the Israelis that want to see that and also for the Palestinians. But the key point at the moment is the Israeli government need to be held to account,” he added. “I support the UK prime minister and many more, by the way, in the British Conservative Party, are coming up to me privately at the moment.”
On Friday, Badenoch said the government’s new actions targeting Israeli settlers and trade relations with the country are not the “right way” to resolve differences with Netanyahu. Pritchard told LBC: “I’m coming on to support Kemi on the comments on antisemitism and supporting the prime minister on his strong stand, finally, on what’s going on in Gaza.”
On Tuesday, Pritchard told the Commons: “Of course, Israel is an important security, trade and democratic partner, but that doesn’t give it a blank cheque. The fact is that 13,000 children have been killed. Some 25,000 have been injured, maimed, wounded, orphaned – some of them. And for many years, I’ve been in this House 20 years, I have supported Israel pretty much at all costs quite frankly. But today I want to say that I got it wrong and I condemn Israel for what it is doing to the Palestinian people in Gaza, and indeed in the West Bank, and I’d like to withdraw my support right now for the actions of Israel, what they are doing right now in Gaza. Of course hostages should be released. Of course Israel has a right to exist. Of course the Israeli people, the Jewish people, should have the right to live in peace, but so do the Palestinian people. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that the life of a Palestinian child is as precious as the life of a Jewish child. And this particular moment in time, we’ve had lots of statements over the last 18 months. This is not only this Parliament’s not greatest hour, I’m really concerned that this is a moment in history when people look back – well we’ve got it wrong as a country. Can the minister stand up to our friends and allies in the United States and make a strong stand for humanity, for us being on the right side of history, for having the moral courage to lead, not just to follow the United States and to make a difference? That’s why we’re all elected here. Let’s stand up for life. Let’s stand up for all children, not just Jewish children.”
Falconer said Pritchard had made a “powerful intervention” and he will “endeavour to stand up on the international stage” with a conviction “equal to the strength of some of these contributions”.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reiterated his call for the Government to end arms sales to Israel, highlighting that the state has dropped bombs on Gaza equivalent to “five times of the power of the nuclear weapons used over Hiroshima and Nagasaki”.
