FOREIGN SECRETARY David Lammy was urged to condemn Israel’s efforts to widen the war in the Middle East today following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by an air strike in Iran.

Stop the War Coalition (StWC) said Haniyeh was the lead Hamas figure in the negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza taking place in Qatar and Israel’s actions “could not have been more provocative.”

StWC vice-chairman Chris Nineham also criticised Labour for using the killing to delay its plans to cancel some arms sales to Israel.

He said: “Israel’s series of overnight attacks in Iran, Lebanon and Iraq were a dramatic and calculated attempt to spark a wider war in the Middle East.

“If you are serious about ceasefire negotiations you don’t assassinate the people you are negotiating with.

“Netanyahu claims they were in response to the deadly rocket attack on the Druze town Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan heights, for which no-one has claimed responsibility, but the killing of Haniyeh could not have been more provocative.”  

He added that despite Britain being the main Western backer of US policy in the Middle East our “pro-Palestine movement has forced the new Starmer government to signal some changes over its stance on Israel – and it is time it condemned Netanyahu’s actions.

“But shockingly, it appears the Foreign Secretary is using this crisis to delay plans to cancel some arms sales to Israel.”

He said this Saturday’s National March For Palestine, which begins at 12pm in London’s Park Lane, “could not be happening at a more critical time, as Netanyahu tries to drag the US into a wider war with Lebanon and Iran.”

The Foreign Office said: “We continue to reiterate that now is the time for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.”