SANCTION Israel now, 82 MPs and peers from nine different parties have told Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

In a move that will test incoming premier Andy Burnham’s intentions to reset government policy towards Israel, the letter, organised by Labour MPs Richard Burgon and Imran Hussein, said comprehensive sanctions were needed to uphold Britain’s obligations under international law.

It is intended to mark the second anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) landmark Advisory Opinion on July 19 2024, which found that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is unlawful and must end “as rapidly as possible.”

The key demands in the letter include banning all trade and investment with illegal Israeli settlements; an end to all arms transfers to Israel, including F-35 components; suspending the Britain-Israel trade agreement and travel bans and other sanctions targeted at political leaders responsible for “annexationist policies.”

Mr Burgon said: “For two years, Israel has openly defied the ruling of the world’s highest court.

“The pitifully weak response from our ministers to Israel’s repeated breaches of international law has only emboldened Benjamin Netanyahu to believe he can continue acting with impunity.

“The government rightly imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, yet its refusal to do the same over Israel’s illegal occupation exposes a glaring double standard.

“Widespread sanctions on Israel would show that Britain is finally prepared to act with the seriousness required to defend international law. That would mark a long‑overdue change in approach and meet both our legal and moral obligations.”

And Mr Hussein said that “the government has repeatedly dragged its feet and refused to act on the International Court of Justice’s landmark ruling.

“This not only undermines the rights of the Palestinian people to live free of occupation, it erodes the very foundations of the rules‑based international order.

“International law means nothing if it is applied only when convenient. If Britain’s commitment to international law is to retain any credibility, ministers must finally do the right thing and impose proper sanctions.”

The letter states: “Two years on, Israel has not only ignored the court but deepened its illegal occupation.

“This includes recent orders by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s army to seize large areas of the Gaza Strip, alongside intensified annexationist measures in the occupied West Bank, including the approval of plans to register land there as Israeli state property.

“These examples underline how, without much bolder action, the Israeli government will continue to simply ignore the words of condemnation from political leaders and governments and deepen its illegal occupation.”

The letter argues that the ICJ ruling places clear obligations on all states, including Britain, not to recognise or assist Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT and to prevent trade and investment that helps maintain it.

“We are clear that international law cannot be applied selectively. The government must apply the same principles to Israel’s unlawful occupation as it does elsewhere,” the letter argues.

More than 40 Labour MPs signed the letter, an indication of the pressure that will be on Mr Burnham to back up his recent words over the atrocities in Gaza with action.

MPs from the Greens, Your Party/Independent Alliance, the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru also signed on, together with a solitary Liberal Democrat and Irish parties Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance.

The initiative comes ahead of the next national demonstration in solidarity with Palestine in London on Saturday and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign mobilising for an action at the Israeli-owned Elbit arms factory in Bristol on July 23.