Unlock the Publisher’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Labor called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza on Tuesday after coming under increasing pressure from its MPs and members.
The British party made its new position clear ahead of Wednesday’s vote in parliament on a Scottish National Party motion calling for a ceasefire.
The Labor Party has drafted its own amendment to the SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire, subject to certain conditions being met, which it will push MPs to support.
The statement said an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah risks “catastrophic humanitarian consequences” and should not take place, calling instead for “an immediate cessation of fighting and a ceasefire that endures and is observed by all sides.”
The government is debating whether to table its own amendment to the motion, which is likely to require a “humanitarian pause”, according to the Conservatives. It is not clear which of the amendments the President will choose for the vote.
According to sources within the party, Labour’s pivot was discussed over the weekend between party leader Sir Keir Starmer, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow defense secretary John Healey at the Munich Security Conference. The measure was approved by the shadow cabinet on Tuesday morning.
The party has been engulfed in an internal battle over its position on the war since the October 7 Hamas attacks prompted military strikes by the Israeli army in Gaza that left nearly 29,000 dead, according to Palestinian officials.
Starmer had given up on calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in favor of a “sustainable” one.
He initially gave full support to Israel as it embarked on its military retaliation. But Labor MPs and party members have put increasing pressure on the leadership to accept the need for an immediate ceasefire.
According to Israeli officials, more than 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage in the October 7 attack on Israel.
In November, 10 Labor leaders were forced to resign while 46 other Labor MPs defied the leadership to vote in support of an earlier SNP motion calling for a ceasefire.
Tuesday’s statement says “statehood is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people and is not a gift from any neighbor” and urges international partners to work together to establish a diplomatic process to reach a two-state solution.
However, the amendment also demands that Hamas release and return all hostages it has held since October and states that Israel cannot be expected to stop fighting as long as Hamas “continues violence.”
A member of Labour’s shadow cabinet has sought to explain the party’s change in position since November, insisting that the situation on the ground in Gaza has changed dramatically.
Diane Abbott, a former shadow home secretary who suspended Labour, said it was not clear whether the party’s position had changed: “If Starmer really wanted a ceasefire, he would table a simple amendment to that effect. Instead he presents one full of weasel words.
A party official indicated that if Labour’s amendment had not been selected, he would not have supported the SNP motion, pointing out that it made no mention of the drive for a two-state solution or the need to work alongside international partners.
On Tuesday, Lord David Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, confirmed that he had advised against suspending or revoking export licenses for British arms sales to Israel.
In a letter to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, published online, he said that “following a thorough and detailed review process, I decided on 12 December that there was no clear risk that the items would be used to commit or facilitate an operation in serious violation of international humanitarian law”.
The foreign minister added that all licenses remain under review.
After another bout of hostility in Gaza in 2014, when Cameron was prime minister, the UK announced it would suspend existing licenses to Israel if violence resumed, warning it could not guarantee export licensing criteria would be met. were satisfied.