Independent MPs on Tuesday condemned the British government after it said it has not concluded Israel is acting with genocidal intent, despite "appalling" civilian suffering.
In a letter dated 1 September and revealed on Monday night, Foreign Secretary David Lammy - who left the role last Friday and was replaced by Yvette Cooper - said that "the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific 'intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.'
"The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent."
Lammy has previously said it was for an international court to determine whether Israel was committing genocide.
The International Court of Justice, the UN's principal judicial body, is currently weighing evidence of genocide against Israel, in a case that is expected to take years to conclude.
