Senior Parliamentarians have written to the Foreign Secretary Rt Hon. Yvette Cooper MP about Israeli restrictions on Palestinian, Israeli and international NGOs. It was sent by Caabu Chair, Rt Hon. Alistair Carmichael MP and has also been signed by Sarah Champion MP, Chair of the International Development Select Committee, Dr Ellie Chowns MP, Green Party Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Andy McDonald MP, Vice-Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, Rt Hon. Kit Malthouse MP, Chair of the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC), Abtisam Mohamed MP, Vice-Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, Brendan O’Hara MP, Shadow SNP spokesperson for the Middle East and Rt Hon. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, co-Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group.
Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
King Charles Street,
London SW1
11 November 2025
Dear Foreign Secretary,
We are writing to you about Israel’s shrinking of civil society space in Israel and the occupied state of Palestine. The Israeli government has taken steps to prevent justice and accountability, suppress dissent, and silence human rights advocates.
This includes sanctioning and proscribing human rights organisations, Knesset bills which target even Israeli human rights organisations, new rules around NGO and INGO registration, the denial and deportation of British MPs, and the denial of access for international journalists.
1. Attacks on Palestinian NGOs: We urge the UK government to speak out against the Israeli and the US sanctions on human rights groups Al Haq, Al Mezan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, and proscription of Addameer. These sanctions are alarming and represent a direct attack on international justice, given that these organisations are globally respected and have been instrumental in documenting and collecting evidence of human rights violations and abuses in the occupied state of Palestine by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
One motivation behind these attacks is that these organisations have filed their observations to the ICC and ICJ as is their right and obligation. Civil society organisations should be encouraged to work with the ICC and ICJ – not just on this matter but on other issues – to ensure that those in power who commit violations are held accountable and victims see justice.
2. Attacks on Israeli NGOs: We also call on the government to challenge the Israeli Knesset bills that target Israeli human rights organisations. The NGO taxation bill imposes an 80% tax on foreign state funding for NGOs that support human rights, which will disproportionately affect NGOs critical of the Israeli government by cutting off their funding and cripple their financial sources. The ICC Cooperation bill criminalises any form of cooperation with the ICC, including submitting documents or providing testimony, with punishment of up to five years imprisonment. It further imposes mandatory reporting on contacts with the ICC, which will intimidate civil society organisations from interacting with international legal institutions. The government must uphold its own commitment to international law and human rights and call on the Israeli government to stop the passing of this legislation.
3. Attacks on international NGOs: Israel can now revoke the registration in Israel of INGOs which operate in the occupied state of Palestine, as well as the right to deny work visas to international personnel. This is affecting international organisations, including British organisations, which provide lifesaving work in the occupied state of Palestine. We appreciate that the government has criticised the move but urge that more be done to reverse this not least at a time of famine in Gaza.
In addition to the above legal measures, the Israeli authorities have denied entry to four British MPs this year, deported civil society activists, and continue to prevent access of international journalists and human rights monitors into Gaza. We ask the government what steps it has made to ensure that further MPs will not be denied and deported, and what efforts British officials have made with their Israeli counterparts to allow international journalists into Gaza?
These Israeli actions hit civil society actors preventing them from carrying out their legitimate roles in advocating for justice and human rights. We urge the UK to do more as part of its commitment to international law to ensure that those organisations and individuals who uphold international law are protected.
Yours sincerely,
Rt Hon. Alistair Carmichael MP, Chair of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu)
Sarah Champion MP, Chair of the International Development Select Committee
Dr Ellie Chowns MP, Green Party Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs
Andy McDonald MP, Vice-Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group
Rt Hon. Kit Malthouse MP, Chair of the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC)
Abtisam Mohamed MP, Vice-Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group
Brendan O’Hara MP, Shadow SNP spokesperson for the Middle East
Rt Hon. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, co-Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group
