In the United Kingdom, Palestine now weighs in the polls.

For three years, hundreds of thousands of British people have demonstrated for Gaza and for Palestine. But now, this mobilization is no longer seen only in the streets. It is also starting to appear in the electoral results. In several constituencies, independent candidates who made Gaza a central theme of their campaign managed to beat or weaken the candidates of the major parties.

Labor is particularly concerned. Part of his electorate criticizes him for his position on Gaza and, more broadly, British policy towards Israel. According to Aimee Shalan, future director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestine has today become a real electoral issue in the United Kingdom. And there are also concrete decisions. In early September, the British government announced a ban on trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as sanctions against people and companies linked to their development.

This is not a blanket boycott of Israel, but it is a significant change in British policy. Gaza, arms sales, settlements, recognition of the Palestinian state: all these subjects are now at the heart of the debate. Palestine is no longer just a UK foreign policy issue. It has also become a question of domestic politics.