Now Labour says Israel’s gone ‘beyond self-defence’
LABOUR accused Israel yesterday of going ‘beyond reasonable self-defence’ in its military campaign in Gaza as the party edges closer to backing an immediate ceasefire.
Health spokesman Wes Streeting said Israel’s actions also called into question if it had broken international law.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli forces have killed at least 28,985 Palestinians. Mr Streeting’s remarks are the strongest the leadership has put out on the conflict so far and come after months of division within the party over the issue.
He confirmed that Labour has not yet decided whether or not to vote for a motion from the Scottish National Party tomorrow backing an immediate ceasefire. A similar proposal in November saw 56 MPs – including ten frontbenchers – rebel against the Labour whip to back Humza Yousaf’s party.
Mr Streeting told Times Radio: ‘As you’ve been hearing from Keir and the rest of the Labour Party for weeks and months now, we want to see a ceasefire. We want to see an end to this conflict.
‘We’ve got to get the hostages released. And, of course, every country has the right to defend itself from external threats. But what we’ve seen during this war is conduct that goes beyond reasonable self-defence and raises serious questions about breaches of international law.’
The party’s position has been the subject of fierce debate since the Hamas terror attacks on October 7 and tomorrow’s vote is likely to expose the extent of the divisions.
Yesterday leader Sir Keir Starmer said a ‘ceasefire that lasts’ must ‘happen now’ but stopped short of using the word ‘immediate’, which is in the SNP’s motion.
The leadership’s refusal to call for an immediate truce has seen Muslim voters abandon Labour in their droves, with just 60 per cent who backed Labour at the 2019 election willing to do so again this year.
A series of independent proPalestinian candidates has also challenged senior Labour MPs who refused to vote for a ceasefire in November at the ballot box.
Meanwhile scores of local councillors have quit Labour over the leadership’s position.
The party was also forced to sever ties with Rochdale by- election
‘We want to see a ceasefire’
candidate Azhar Ali after he suggested Israel was partly responsible for the October 7 attacks.
The SNP motion demands an ‘immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel’, the immediate release of all Israeli hostages and ‘an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people’.
Sir Keir has confirmed his party was looking at the ‘precise wording’ to see if a deal can be struck with the SNP ahead of the vote.
But SNP frontbencher Alison Thewliss said: ‘The wording is clear – the reasons why Labour won’t support it are less so.’
Yesterday Labour came under further pressure from Left-wing grassroots group Momentum. Co-chairman Hilary Schan said: ‘It’s vital that every Labour MP votes for an immediate end to the bloodshed.’
LABOUR’S moral dilemma over Gaza continues to tear the party apart. How does Sir Keir Starmer keep the staunchly proPalestinian wing of his party on board, while also recognising Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism?
He has consistently declined to endorse an immediate ceasefire, recognising that it is untenable until Hamas releases its hostages. Yesterday, however, his party appeared to be shifting, saying Israel has gone ‘beyond reasonable self-defence’ and calling for a permanent end to the fighting.
Everyone wants an end to the carnage, of course, but responsibility lies with Hamas, who committed the October 7 massacre. It is to them, and their Iranian puppeteers, that Sir Keir’s peace-making efforts should be directed.
For Israelis, this is an existential struggle against an enemy that wants to wipe the Jewish state and its people off the map. After pledging his support, for the Labour leader now to abandon them for short-term political expediency would be shaming.