We have all watched with horror the growing humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza in Palestine.

Over the weekend, Keir Starmer announced that the UK would now officially recognise the state of Palestine, as we had promised ahead of the election.

The decision reflects the UK’s commitment to a two-state solution and re-affirms the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. It also keeps the hope of a peace process alive in the face of reprehensible language and actions of the Israeli government who look to annex the West Bank and decimate Gaza.

I want to see a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian State and have been pushing government collectively with my colleagues to ensure this happens and will continue to do so, though I share the despair that so many of us feel about the lack of impact our entreaties have made on the Israeli conduct of the war.

Of course, my thoughts are also with the hostages who are still being cruelly held by Hamas. I want to see those who are still alive safely returned to their loved ones to rebuild their lives after the trauma they have suffered and see the bodies of victims retuned to help their loved ones grieve. I cannot imagine the torment they must be feeling.

However, I reject any suggestion that recognition of Palestine is a ‘reward for Hamas’.  Hamas are not the Palestinian people and must not play any part in a future government. Recognition of Palestine simply reflects the equal rights of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

I am pleased the recognition of Palestine also includes a practical plan to bring people together behind a common vision and a series of steps, including the reform of the Palestinian Authority to ensure that Hamas is kept firmly away from power.

Recognition has also helped to secure an unprecedented rejection of Hamas by the Arab world. All twenty-two members of the Arab League have now signed a landmark declaration calling for Hamas to release all hostages, lay down its arms and end its rule in Gaza. This action will make a tangible difference going forward to the future of the region and a lasting peace.

However, whilst I welcome these actions, still there is more that could be done in the face of the extreme suffering of innocent civilians across Palestine- in Gaza and the West Bank. I am frustrated that the Israeli government is not listening to its allies and want to see further pressure applied.

To this end, I wrote again to the Foreign Secretary this week. I highlighted to her the appalling findings of the recent report, published by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which has concluded that report Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

I have always operated on the basis that despite my own horror at the scenes unfolding on my television, when it came to assessing whether actions met the definition of genocide or war crimes, we should leave that to the global bodies responsible for making these dispassionate expert and evidence-based decisions.

Now that we have the UN’s unequivocal report, I have asked her if the government will accept the report and as such, fulfil its legal obligations to act to prevent a genocide under Article I of the Genocide Convention. I have asked for her to urgently set out what actions will be taken to prevent the further loss of civilian life in Gaza and bring home the hostages still being cruelly held by Hamas.

I will continue to push the government to action as I know how passionately people across Chesterfield feel about the terrible human suffering, we have all seen in the Middle east.

I hope that this letter reassures you that I am doing what I can to push for an end to the conflict as soon as possible.