PRESS RELEASE
2 October 2026
Palestine is still the issue: Greens stand to gain most from a clear stand on Palestine, Friends of Al-Aqsa chair tells conference fringe
Dr Ismail Patel sets out the electoral evidence that a pro-Palestinian stance would win the Green Party seats
A clear and consistent stand for freedom and justice for Palestine would be to the Green Party's electoral advantage, Dr Ismail Patel, Chair of Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), told a fringe meeting at the Green Party conference on 3 October.
Speaking as an independent voice and not as a party member, Dr Patel set out the evidence from the 2024 general election, the Greens' 2026 by-election and local election results, and recent polling. He concluded that the Green Party, more than any other, is positioned to benefit from championing the issue.
The evidence
Palestine has already moved votes. In 2024, Labour share of votes drastically dropped across 12 seats and lost 5 seats to the independent.
The Greens have won where the issue is strongest. The Greens won Gorton and Denton in February 2026 with 40.7 per cent of the vote, with Labour third. In May's local elections they won control of Hackney and Lewisham and became the largest party in Lambeth and Haringey.
The public is ahead of the government. A YouGov poll for the Council for Arab-British Understanding in July 2026 found 50 per cent of Britons say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, against 17 per cent who say it is not. 57 per cent back suspending UK arms exports to Israel.
The Greens' target voters agree. Two-thirds of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters say Israel is committing genocide. Reform voters are the only group more likely to reject the claim than accept it.
The seats are within reach. More in Common's July 2026 model put the Greens second in 35 seats, 33 of them held by Labour, including Manchester Rusholme by less than one point.
Dr Patel was frank that Green support has fallen since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. He argued that this is because the Prime Minister and the Labour Party have taken over the language of the Palestinian cause. However, Labour’s rhetoric has not been matched by action. Since the Foreign Secretary announced a "double lock" on arms sales on 8 September, Declassified UK found that no additional arms licence have been suspended, and F-35 components still reach a global pool Israel can draw on.
That, Dr Patel said, should spur the Green Party to stand on policies, not only words. To open a clear gap once again between themselves and Labour's rhetoric, the Greens should:
call for an immediate ban on the sale of military equipment to Israel;
having called for Palestine Action to be removed from the list of proscribed organisations, pursue it
call for British citizens serving in the Israeli army who are suspected of war crimes to be investigated and prosecuted.
having already recognised what is happening in Gaza as a genocide, adopt policies that ensure Britain is in no way complicit in it.
Quotes
Dr Ismail Patel, Chair of Friends of Al-Aqsa, said:
"I am not a member of the Green Party, and I did not come to cheer for it. I came to set out what the evidence shows. On Palestine, the public is ahead of the government, and the voters the Greens need to win overwhelmingly agree with a pro-Palestinian position."
"The voters of Leicester, Dewsbury, Blackburn, Perry Barr, Islington, and Gorton and Denton showed that conscience can be counted, and that it can be counted in votes."
"I would say this to any party willing to listen. The evidence simply shows that, today, the Greens have the most to gain from acting on it. Palestine is still the issue, in Gaza, in the West Bank, and on the doorsteps of the seats the Greens need to win."
Five positions
Dr Patel set out five positions that Friends of Al-Aqsa puts to every party:
A full two-way arms embargo on Israel, including F-35 components.
Extending the settlement ban to finance and services, and suspending preferential trade with Israel while the occupation continues.
Full compliance with international courts, including enforcing International Criminal Court arrest warrants.
An end to military cooperation that supports Israeli operations.
Lifting the ban on Palestine Action and defending the right to protest.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Friends of Al-Aqsa is a UK-based organisation campaigning for the protection of Masjid Al-Aqsa and for the rights of the Palestinian people. Dr Ismail Patel is its Chair.
The full text of the speech, with sources, is available on request.
Sources for figures: UK Parliament election results (2024 and the February 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election); YouGov for the Council for Arab-British Understanding, 2–3 July 2026 (2,125 adults); More in Common MRP, July 2026; YouGov voting intention, 27–28 September 2026; Opinium, 23 September 2026; Declassified UK, September 2026.
Media contact:
Ismail Patel
iap@foa.org.uk
