LABOUR MPs have visited Israel on a lobbying trip amid the country’s brutal assault on Gaza.
The party's most prominent pro-Israel group, Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), sent a delegation of parliamentarians including chair Jon Pearce, as well as fellow Labour MPs Cat Eccles, Kevin McKenna, Peter Prinsley and Mark Sewards.
Former Labour MP and House of Lords member Luciana Berger also joined.
They were pictured with a host of Israeli politicians over the course of the four-day delegation, which appears to have taken place last week, including president Isaac Herzog.
Herzog has previously been criticised after photographs showed him signing Israeli bombs set to be dropped on Gaza.
His comments in the wake of the October 7 attack were also cited in South Africa’s International Court of Justice case as expressing genocidal intent.
In the days after the attack, Herzog said it was not only Hamas militants who were responsible but “an entire nation” and vowed that Israel would fight “until we break their backbone”.
Incredibly, in the middle of a genocide, Labour MPs @Jon4HighPeak @catecclesstour @PeterPrinsley @MarkJSewards just visited Israel with lobbyists @_LFI, and met with politicians who’ve depicted civilians in Gaza as an enemy & called for starving the entire population to death 🧵 pic.twitter.com/hdQqzK14cs
— North Herts Palestine Solidarity Campaign (@NHertsPsc) June 4, 2025
Meanwhile, they also met with deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel.
According to an LFI briefing on the trip, the group also held meetings with Israel’s Leader of the Opposition, Yair Lapid, as well as with Yair Golan, leader of Labour’s sister party, the Democrats.
Golan said in October 2023: “I think that in this battle, it is forbidden to allow a humanitarian effort. We need to say to them: listen, until the [captives] are released, from our side, you can die from starvation. It’s totally legitimate.”
They then travelled to Ramallah in the West Bank, meeting with representatives of the Palestinian Authority including ambassador Adel Atieh.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said LFI have been "apologists for occupation, for apartheid, and for genocide".
"Even a former Israeli Prime Minister has described the Netanyahu regime as a "gang of thugs", yet Labour MPs are treating that regime as friends, and the Labour UK Government itself is still unwilling to take a clear, principled stance," he added.
"All this is happening while Israel kills the Palestinians desperately trying to reach the meagre aid that's being provided. It's past time that the international community imposed sanctions on Israel, and ensured that its war criminals are brought to justice.”
