Cross-party letter to Irish and UK Foreign Ministers on the situation in Palestine

I co-signed a letter to Irish and UK Foreign Ministers raising concerns about the ongoing situation in Palestine, which was signed by MPs and peers from across parties and in both the UK and Irish parliaments.

This letter specifically sought assurances on Israel’s issuing of tenders to build the E1 settlement and the ban on UNRWA and 37 international NGOs from operating in Palestine.

You can read the full letter below:

The full text of the letter reads:

Helen McEntee TD

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Department of Foreign Affairs

Iveagh House

Dublin 2

Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

King Charles St

London SW1A 2AH

The Hon Hamish Falconer MP

Middle East Minister

FCDO

11 March 2026

Palestine/Israel : British-Irish Parliamentary cooperation – calls for Government action

Dear Minister, Dear Secretary of State, Dear Middle East Minister,

Thank you for your respective letters of 3 March.

We much regret the absence of progress on Government actions commended in our letter to you of 22 December, and deplore the deterioration in conditions on the ground in the state of Palestine, rightly recognised as such by both our Governments.

As we write, Israel has again closed the Gaza Rafah crossing and locked down the entire West Bank.

The Government actions set out in our December letter still stand. They are :

• a ban on trade in goods and services (including investment) with illegal Israeli settlements
• accountability for breaches of International Law, whoever commits them
• enabling the UN and NGOs to do their jobs in Palestine
• Gaza access by diplomatic missions accredited to Palestine. T

The Israeli and US attacks on Iran will potentially be used as an excuse for inaction. This would be a mistake. The same disregard for international law by Israel and others, and the failure of the international community to hold them to account, cannot continue.

Some will point to this inaction as the driver behind these unlawful attacks on Iran. However oppressive and corrupt this Iranian regime may be – and it is – ignoring the law opens the door to mayhem and worse.

In Gaza, the « ceasefire » of October last year is not genuine ; over 600 Palestinians have been killed since then – most of them women and children. Israel continues to deny access to diplomats, journalists and international aid workers, and severely restricts food, medicines and temporary accommodation. It denies access for mobile hospitals on spurious grounds. The « Gazafication » of the West Bank is intensifying, with the forced displacement of entire Palestinian communities, rampant murderous settler violence aided and abetted by the Israeli army, and unlawful measures to annex de facto the West Bank, tearing up the Oslo Accords. The Israeli Security Cabinet’s decision to register Palestinian land as Israeli state property is an assertion of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, in flagrant breach of international law. This is annexation.

In this context we ask you to address specifically two illegal Israeli actions : the issuing of tenders to build the E1 settlement with the declared aim of « burying the two-state solution » and the ban on UNRWA and 37 international NGOs from operating in Palestine.

E1 settlement tenders – action needed

Tenders have been issued to build E1. We ask you and like-minded opponents of this disastrous project to warn now, before tenders are opened, that any individual or corporate body engaging in planning and building E1 puts at risk their ability to do business in or with our countries. Tenders were to be opened on 16 March. The US/Israel/Iran war means that deadline will not be met – but the warning by our governments is urgently needed.

We recommend that this warning be followed by a comprehensive ban on trade with settlements – goods, services and investment – consistent with the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice and, in the case of Ireland, the unanimous advice of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade.

UNRWA and international NGOs operating in Palestine

The Israeli Government’s unlawful ban on 37 reputable NGOs is now before the Israeli High Court. We ask the British and Irish Governments to make clear to Israel that there will be severe economic and political consequences if it does not rescind the banning order, and permit UNRWA to fulfil the mission it holds from the UN General Assembly. Enclosed is a factual assessment by the Norwegian Refugee Council (funded by both our Governments) of the truly terrible impact on the lives of Palestinians unless these decisions are reversed. We are witnessing systematic efforts to « privatise » the delivery 2 of humanitarian assistance and thus destroy the UN and international aid structures on which peoples across the world depend. Gaza is only the start. We must not let it happen.

We ask you to respond urgently to these two specific requests. We reserve the right to raise Israel/Palestine in the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly (22-24 March).

Signed

Debbie Abrahams MP

Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD

Ciarán Ahern TD

The Baroness Alexander of Cleveden FRSE

Senator Chris Andrews

Ivana Bacik TD

Paula Barker MP

Cathy Bennett TD

Siân Berry MP

Clive Betts MP

Senator Frances Black

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Blackstone

Senator Victor Boyhan

Richard Burgon MP

Joanna Byrne TD

Holly Cairns TD

The Rt Hon. Alistair Carmichael MP

The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of

Southwark

Dr Ellie Chowns MP

Rose Conway Walsh TD

Réada Cronin TD

Seán Crowe TD

Jen Cummins TD

Baroness Curran

Carla Denyer MP

Máire Devine TD

Paul Donnelly TD

The Lord Dubs

Colum Eastwood MP

The Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay

Sinéad Ennis MLA

Mairéad Farrell TD

Patricia Ferguson MP

Senator Eileen Flynn

Andrew George MP

Sinéad Gibney TD

Ann Graves TD

The Rt Hon. Louise Haigh MP

The Rt Hon. the Lord Hain

Senator Laura Harmon

Eoin Hayes TD

Rory Hearne TD

Ruth Jones MP

Declan Kearney MLA

Ben Lake MP

Sarah Owen MP

George Lawlor TD

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD

Rachael Maskell MP

Andy McDonald MP

Mary Lou McDonald TD

Senator Michael McDowell

Pauline McNeill MSP

Denise Mitchell TD

The Baroness Mobarik CBE

Abtisam Mohamed MP

Layla Moran MP

Johnny Mythen TD

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh TD

Senator Malcolm Noonan

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Northover

The Lord Oates

Roderic O’Gorman TD

Brendan O’Hara MP

Louis O’Hara TD

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD

Ruairí Ó Murchú TD

Dr Simon Opher MP

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin TD

Liam Quaide TD

Adrian Ramsay MP

Senator Lynn Ruane

Pádraig Rice TD

Naz Shah MP

Marie Sherlock TD

Pat Sheehan MLA

Emma Sheerin MLA

Cat Smith MP

Duncan Smith TD

The Rt Hon. the Lord Soames of Fletching

Hannah Spencer MP

Brian Stanley TD

Senator Patricia Stephenson

The Rt Hon. the Lord Swire KCMG

The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of Gloucester

Pauline Tully TD

Barry Ward TD

Mark Ward TD

Matt Western MP

Yuan Yang MP