British Prime Minister Keir Starmer resisted pressure on Wednesday to describe the war in Gaza as genocide during Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament.
The exchange came after Independent MP Ayoub Khan, representing Birmingham Perry Barr, challenged Starmer on his definition of genocide, citing Article Two of the United Nations genocide convention.
“I’m well aware of the definition of genocide, and that is why I have never described this as, and referred to it as, genocide”, Starmer told the House of Commons.
Khan had argued that “genocide is not about numbers, it’s about intent”, pointing to what he described as the Israeli government and IDF’s “explicitly clear” intentions over the past 400 days, during which he said more than 45,000 people had been killed.
The Birmingham MP also referenced the Foreign Secretary’s October 28 statement denying that genocide was taking place in Gaza. Khan pressured Starmer to outline both his definition of genocide and any further actions planned to assist civilians in Gaza, noting Britain’s current presidency of the UN Security Council.
Starmer began his response by emphasising the importance of acknowledging “what happened in October of last year” before reiterating his position on the use of the term genocide.
Israel has killed at least 43,000 Palestinians, with 102,000 wounded, since the October 7 attack by Hamas. It has also killed around 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, while around 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the war.
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.
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