News- Middle East: Dozens of lawmakers from the center-left Labour Party have called upon the British government to immediately recognize the State of Palestine and take concrete action to prevent Israel from forcibly displacing the people of the Gaza Strip.

In a letter addressed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Saturday, around 60 legislators warned that they believed Gaza was being ethnically cleansed, especially after Israeli minister of military affairs Israel Katz announced plans to force all residents of Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah in the southern part of the territory.

The parliamentarians urged the UK to intervene urgently to stop the occupying Tel Aviv regime’s plan to forcibly relocate Palestinians, and to move forward with the official recognition of Palestine.

 “It is with great urgency and concern that we are writing to you regarding the Israeli minister’s announcement on Monday of his plans to forcibly transfer all Palestinian civilians in Gaza to a camp in the ruined city of Rafah without allowing them to leave.” the MPs wrote:

They added, “The minister’s plans have been described by a leading Israeli human rights lawyer, Michael Sfard, as ‘an operational plan for crimes against humanity. It’s about population transfer to the southern tip of Gaza in preparation for deportation outside the strip.’

“Though an accurate description, we believe there is a clearer one. The ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” the lawmakers noted.

More than 140 UN member states recognize the Palestinian state, with Spain, Ireland, and Norway joining the ranks last year.

At least 57,882 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 138,095 injured in the brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the besieged coastal territory.

Source: Press TV