Britain’s newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville)
In one of his first foreign policy statements, new-elected British Foreign Secretary David Lammy addressed the ongoing conflict between the terrorist organization Hamas and Israel in Gaza, repeating his previous call for an immediate ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
“All of us recognize the agony of communities who have seen the scenes coming out of Israel and Gaza,” Lammy said in an official statement from the Foreign Office in London on Friday.
“But the job now is to get to work with tireless diplomacy to support an immediate ceasefire and move towards getting those hostages out,” Lammy stated.
He vowed to “get to work with tireless diplomacy” to achieve these two goals. Lammy, who previously served as Britain’s shadow foreign secretary while the Labour Party was in opposition, has expressed his support for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Gaza.
The Labour Party recently won a landslide victory under the leadership of the party leader and new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who decisively defeated former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Lammy, now the new face of Britain’s foreign relations, also pledged to “diplomatically” do everything possible to back the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The latest results of the the British elections will likely have an impact on the Middle East region.
Starmer’s wife, Victoria Alexander, is of Jewish descent, and the UK prime minister has played a leading role in fighting antisemitism within the Labour Party, expelling the controversial former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has been criticized for showing support for Hamas and has often been viewed as hostile towards Israel.
However, prominent British Jewish columnist Melanie Phillips still voiced concerns about Starmer’s potential unwillingness to recognize the antisemitism in his government.
“Starmer may have rid the Labor party of its most egregious anti-Semites. But as in the progressive world in general, he has drawn a wholly artificial line between Jew-hatred and the demonization of Israel that is now de rigueur on the left,” she wrote.
As Britain’s opposition leader, Starmer displayed public support for Israel after the unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and massacre of over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of some 250 Israelis and foreign nationals.
“I am appalled and shocked by events in Israel. I utterly condemn the senseless murder of men, women and children in cold blood by the terrorists of Hamas and condemn any act of violence or intimidation towards the Jewish community in Britain,” Starmer stated.
His new foreign secretary also expressed support for Israel following the Oct. 7 terror attack.
”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,” Lammy stated.
While the former UK government in London under Sunak was generally supportive of Israel, it increasingly began to criticize Israeli military operations in Gaza and indicated its support for an internationally mediated ceasefire.
When placed in this wider diplomatic context, it is less likely that Starmer’s Middle East policy will deviate dramatically from its predecessor.
