The New Dark Age

Tuesday, 27 May 2025 — Declassified UK

Zarah Sultana has received “death threats” online and abuse from Labour politicians over her advocacy for Palestinian rights in the British parliament. But now, as the UK starts to sanction Israel over its escalation in Gaza, it seems that Sultana has been proven right.

The former Labour MP, who was told that part of the reason for her suspension from the party was her criticism of the government’s support for Israel during its assault on Gaza, is now finding that many of the arguments she’s made in the past 19 months are finally being accepted and adopted by mainstream politicians and journalists.

As a Labour MP, she grew accustomed to politicians from her own party briefing against her and heckling her in parliament. In recent exchanges on Gaza in the House of Commons, she put a question to David Lammy about continued arms sales to Israel, to which he replied she was “keen on clickbait”. A day later, three ministers responsible for arms exports were being summoned to a committee to explain why there are loopholes in the rules on sending weapons to Israel.

Sultana spoke to Declassified’s editor Phil Miller outside the Houses of Parliament in London about her experience of being a pro-Palestine MP in an overwhelmingly pro-Israel institution.