Burnham said the UK should consider further sanctions against Israeli settlers, criticising the Labour Party's approach to the genocide taking place in the Gaza Strip.
Written by: The Middle East Eye his/her staff
Andy Burnham has apologised for the Labour government's response to Israel's genocide in Gaza, saying his party "did not handle the situation well" and must do more, signaling a possible shift in the UK's stance on Israel as he prepares to move into Downing Street.
„I know many people feel that my party did not handle the situation well at the beginning of Israel’s military action in Gaza, and for that I apologize. The response has too often not been good enough. We must do better,” Burnham said.
Burnham called the „unbearable suffering” in Gaza a „wound on our collective conscience.” He criticized Israel’s continued territorial expansion in Gaza, adding, „We must do more to put pressure on the Israeli government.”
Burnham praised Keir Starmer’s government for recognizing Palestine, imposing sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers, and banning the flow of „British bombs and bullets” to Israel. „We have taken some important steps,” he said. „But let’s be honest: the UK was too slow to demand a ceasefire. Now we need to do more to strengthen our approach.”
„Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement. Settler violence is increasing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” he said. „The Netanyahu government is clearly trying to make the two-state solution impossible.”
Burnham has pledged to look into the possibility of further sanctions against Israeli settlers and a ban on trade with Israeli settlements. Burnham's statement is under close scrutiny as he is expected to become the UK's prime minister next month.
On war crimes
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, returned to parliament last month in a by-election in Makerfield. MPs are due to meet this month to nominate their next leader.
Burnham's statement also carefully condemned the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, as well as anti-Semitic attacks in the UK. While his criticism of Israel is a departure from Starmer's previous rhetoric, it is unlikely to satisfy British pro-Palestinian voices and those angered by the UK's close ties with Israel.
Burnham, for example, refused to take a position on whether Israel committed genocide in Gaza. The United Nations, as well as numerous rights groups and human rights experts, have recognized Israel's war in the strip, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, as genocide.
„There is growing evidence that war crimes may have been committed,” Burnham said, but added that he believed „it is for international courts to decide, not politicians.”.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
A Middle East Eye In June 2025, it was revealed that former British Foreign Secretary David Cameron had privately threatened Karim Khan, the British chief prosecutor of the ICC, in April 2024: if he issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, the court's funding would be withdrawn and the United Kingdom would withdraw from the ICC.
