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Kenya’s National Assembly on August 6, 2025 expressed strong condemnation of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza as lawmakers debated a motion on the recognition of the State of Palestine and the escalating humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

MPs engaged in an intense debate, giving impassioned speeches and painting a grim picture of the suffering, displacement, and destruction in Gaza. The representatives urged immediate international action to halt what they described as genocide. While no motion was passed, over a dozen MPs from different parties voiced their condemnation of Israel’s actions against Palestine and demanded Kenya and nations across the world take immediate action to stop it.

“Incomparable to anything in the world”

MP Fatuma Mohammed described the situation as “terrible” and “beyond comparison,” recounting harrowing accounts of women and children walking over 12 kilometers for food and water only to be attacked at aid distribution sites.

“One has no choice, but to support Palestinians to get their freedom,” she said. “Over 170 countries of the United Nations have recognized what Palestinians are fighting for. What are other countries doing to support Palestine? Palestinians are in their country. They have not claimed any other country’s land. They are in their own land, which God chose to put them in. Why are they being moved from their land?”

“Palestinians… deserve support. They are calm, God-fearing people, but they have been oppressed for as long as they have lived on their land. They have never enjoyed freedom and peace because of other countries’ interference. Israelis could not win this war on their own. Other countries support them in this war.”

A stain on the world’s conscience

Hon. Abdul Haro described the crisis as “a stain on the collective memory of the world,” recounting reports of a child being shot after showing a gesture of respect to an Israeli soldier, and the tragic story of a doctor who lost nine children while treating patients.

“We are watching a genocide live,” Haro said. “70% of Gaza’s housing has been destroyed. Hospitals, schools, and universities have been leveled.”

Hon. Ali Raso expressed sorrow over the humanitarian toll and criticized the paralysis of the UN Security Council.

“It is as if humanity has lost its soul,” Raso lamented. “Kenya is part of the global society that speaks to the soul of the human being. We have served in peacekeeping missions from Yugoslavia to Namibia, Mozambique, and Western Sahara. What is happening shows the Security Council has lost its agenda. If this was being done by any other country, it would have been crushed, but here it is being done by one country that listens to no one but itself.”

Historical roots of the crisis

Hon. Yusuf Hassan placed the war in a broader historical context, tracing the conflict to the displacement of Palestinians during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

“The myth of ‘a land for people without land’ led to the planting of the Jewish nation in the middle of the Palestinian State, displacing its people. Despite the United Nations repeated calls for a two-State solution, Israel and its allies have pushed for a final solution to rid the world of Palestine,” Hassan said.

Hon. Jematiah Sergon argued that the crisis can be traced directly to post-World War II political decisions.

“For many of us who have gone to school and learnt history, the war now being undertaken in Palestine was caused by a few people who sat down and created the State of Israel after the Second World War,” she said. “They did not consider the people of Palestine and the larger region… We are witnessing the worst genocide in modern history. My biggest worry is that those who police the world on democracy and human rights are the very ones overseeing and perpetrating the killing of young babies, mothers, and women who have no reason to die.”

What Israel is doing is wrong

Hon. Dick Oyugi echoed those sentiments, stressing the moral and humanitarian failure of the international community:

“Peace is a fundamental pillar of human life; without it, chaos prevails. The prolonged war between Israel and Palestine has brought scenes that are both dehumanizing and heartbreaking – innocent people butchered for no other reason than being Palestinian. The United Nations General Assembly has passed resolutions demanding an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestinian territories, yet these have been ignored.”

The representative added, “What Israel is doing to the Palestinian people is wrong. No right-thinking person can support the kind of destruction, the kind of murders, the kind of butchery that we are seeing happening to innocent people. In cases of war, it is always good that innocent children and women are left out of the war. These people are unarmed……The international community, especially the superpowers, are quiet. They are quiet when innocent people are killed. They are quiet when innocent people are murdered in broad daylight. Some, just in queues looking for food and water, are killed and murdered. This is wrong. There is nothing wrong when a country fights for its territorial recognition. As a country in Kenya, our forefathers fought to give us independence.”

A shift in tone for Kenya

The debate comes at a time where there is a growing chorus of voices worldwide demanding an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian access, and a political resolution to the decades-long conflict, including the recent move by the State of Ghana to send food aid to Gaza. This shift in tone among many Kenyan lawmakers marks a significant change of heart, as the Kenyan government has in the past consistently backed Israel against the wishes of many. Kenya as a former settler colony has a long tradition of resistance against occupation and colonialism.

Kenyan MPs condemn Gaza atrocities, call for ceasefire and recognition of Palestine