LABOUR backing for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza was starting to crumble today under pressure from the mass movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The party tabled a Commons amendment ahead of tomorrow’s debate calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire which means an immediate stop to the fighting and a ceasefire that lasts and is observed by all.”
Labour’s equivocal shift is designed to head off a repetition of the rebellion of November, encompassing more than a quarter of Labour MPs, when MPs last voted on a Gaza ceasefire.
Labour MPs who then abstained on the vote have faced intense pressure from their constituents, including within the Muslim community, with some fearing electoral defeat.
Left MP Diane Abbott called the amendment “weasel words” designed to get “Labour MPs under pressure off the hook.”
Other MPs emphasised the role of movement strength in shifting Sir Keir Starmer.
Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German said: “Labour’s amendment is a welcome development although weaker than the SNP position.
“Let’s be clear: this is the result of mass protest and of widespread opposition inside Labour.
“We need to step up our campaigning on the streets.”
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign also praised the protest movement for shifting Labour towards a peace position, but denounced the party for playing “parliamentary word-games with the lives of the Palestinian people” and joined independent MP Claudia Webbe in urging all MPs to vote for the clearer SNP motion.
Labour national executive committee member Jess Barnard called the amendment welcome but added: “It is a total moral failure that it has taken 30,000 Palestinian lives to arrive here.”
Campaign group Momentum said Labour’s position fell “short of what the moment requires.
“By making its call for a ceasefire so conditional and caveated, the Labour leadership is giving cover for Israel’s brutal war to continue,” a spokesman said, urging MPs to vote for the SNP motion.
The motion calls for an immediate ceasefire and warns against any assault by Israel on the 1.5 million Palestinians currently sheltering in the border city of Rafah, “the largest refugee camp in the world.”
It also urges an end to “the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
In a letter to all MPs today, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said that “for five months, the UK has followed Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s strategy of equivocation. The time for equivocation is over — the UK must back an immediate ceasefire.”
He warned that the vote would be a defining one for all MPs and urged them to vote with their conscience.
Labour’s amendment dilutes the SNP position and places more burdens on Hamas in respect of a ceasefire while avoiding overt criticism of Israel.
It was keen to emphasise that it was keeping in step with the US administration, and the amendment — doubtless approved by Washington — underlines the role of “international partners” in delivering justice for the Palestinians.
The amendment also states that “an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences and therefore must not take place,” a formula that does not rule out aerial bombardment.
Nevertheless, Mr Flynn indicated that the SNP was happy with Labour’s new position, indicating it could back the amendment in the Commons tomorrow.
“I welcome this long-overdue U-turn from Sir Keir Starmer who now appears to support the SNP’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
“However, the plain truth is Sir Keir was forced into this position through public pressure,” he said.
It was also believed the Tories might allow the Labour amendment to pass.
