Residents have handed a petition to Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey urging him to do more to oppose Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza.

A rally was held outside the Kingston and Surbiton MP's office on Friday (June 20), when his constituency office was given the petition signed by 165 residents from Kingston, Twickenham and Richmond.

The petition accuses the UK government of "abandoning its moral and legal responsibilities to prevent Israeli atrocities in Gaza".

It says there is much more the government could do to put pressure on the Israeli government to lift aid restrictions and end its military campaign in the territory.

The petition says a Lib Dem motion tabled in Parliament earlier this month calling on the government to expand sanctions on Israeli ministers and recognise the state of Palestine, while welcomed, did not go far enough in its demands. The motion was signed by 75 MPs.

The petition demands Sir Ed put more pressure on the government to impose comprehensive economic sanctions and a total trade embargo on Israel until it agrees to an immediate mutual ceasefire, and to recognise the state of Palestine.

It urges the MP to call for a vote in Parliament on these issues.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

More than 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry.

Israel eased its total 11-week blockade on aid entering Gaza in May. At least 410 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to access new private aid hubs in Gaza, the UN human rights office said this week. 

Sir Ed Davey is the MP for Kingston and Surbiton (credit: House of Commons).

Paul Tippell, who organised the petition, said: "We must do something, however small. By January this year 14,500 Palestinian children in Gaza had been killed by Israel.

"There are more child amputees per capita in Gaza than anywhere else in the world. The Israelis are blocking UN aid and thousands of children are experiencing acute malnutrition and will die unless special therapeutic foods are supplied."

The government announced sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in response to their "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities" earlier this month, alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in Parliament this week that an immediate ceasefire "has never been more urgent".

He said: "Half a million Palestinian civilians are facing starvation and more than 400 have reportedly been killed in recent weeks trying to access food, while Gazan hospitals have had to stop services that are vital for childbirth and emergency surgeries.

"This is appalling, it is unacceptable, and it must finally end. The Israeli government must lift aid restrictions, and Hamas must release all the hostages."

Sir Ed told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he would meet with the residents to discuss the petition.

He said: "I share the grave concern of my constituents about what is unfolding in Gaza, and I am planning on meeting with them to discuss their concerns.

"The suffering and carnage we're seeing in the Strip is unbearable. It has shown – beyond any doubt – that only a political resolution can end the bloodshed and support a long-term peace in the Middle East.

"Earlier this month, the government accepted Liberal Democrat calls to sanction the extremist Israeli Ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich – over a year since I first proposed it – for their abhorrent calls for Palestinians to be forcibly dispossessed.

"While that marked a step in the right direction, the government has dragged its feet on taking more action to pressure the Netanyahu Government to lift the blockade and draw back its military action in Gaza.

"Labour needs to confirm, now, that it's willing to expand sanctions further – to include those ministers who continue to advocate for the conquest of Gaza and the aid blockade – if the Israeli government does not change course. It also needs to commit – at last – to immediately recognise the state of Palestine.

"This will draw power away from the Hamas extremists, provide hope to millions of Palestinians, and reaffirm the UK's resolute commitment to Palestinian self-determination."