Starmer says Gaza fighting âmust stop nowâ and warns against Rafah assault | Keir Starmer
![Starmer says Gaza fighting âmust stop nowâ and warns against Rafah assault | Keir Starmer Starmer says Gaza fighting âmust stop nowâ and warns against Rafah assault | Keir Starmer](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b039930423d4f7e51883f4a6e7132c64694475f0/437_1046_4710_2826/master/4710.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=205e0620379d116825833a086a7a5ed0)
Keir Starmer has said the âfighting must stop nowâ in Gaza, warning Israel not to extend its military offensive to the southern city of Rafah ahead of another potential crunch point for his party over the crisis.
The Labour leader made the comments in a speech to the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, where he has faced renewed pressure ahead of a crucial Commons vote on Wednesday over a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire.
âI have just returned from the Munich security conference, where every conversation I had came back to the situation in Israel and Gaza and the question of what we can do practically to deliver what we all want to see â a return of all the hostages taken on 7 October, an end to the killing of innocent Palestinians, a huge scaling-up of humanitarian relief and an end to the fighting,â he said.
âNot just for now, not just for a pause, but permanently. A ceasefire that lasts. That is what must happen now. The fighting must stop now.â
In a stance that has caused deep divisions across the Labour party, Starmer has previously refused to support calls for an âimmediateâ end to the violence, using the more cautious phrasing of a âsustainable ceasefireâ.
His speech came a day after the conference passed a motion that explicitly called for an immediate ceasefire on both sides and was endorsed by the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, who has previously been critical of Starmerâs more cautious stance.
Labour faces another perilous vote in the Commons on Wednesday, with the Scottish National party tabling a motion calling for an immediate end to the violence. The party is desperate to avoid a repeat of last Novemberâs significant rebellion over a similar SNP motion, when 56 Labour MPs defied the party whip to back it, with eight frontbenchers stepping down to do so, including Jess Phillips.
Calling for a return to a âgenuine peace processâ, with a two-state solution back on the table, Starmer told Scottish Labour members on Sunday: âThe offensive threatened on Rafah â a place where 1.5 million people are now cramped together in unimaginable conditions with nowhere else for them to go â this cannot become a new theatre of war. That offensive cannot happen.â
The SNP has ramped up the pressure on Starmer, writing to backbenchers urging them to back its fresh motion.
The partyâs Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, published a letter inviting Starmer to a meeting on Monday to discuss the motion but making it âcrystal clearâ that the wording of the motion âmust maintain the clarity of pressing for an immediate ceasefireâ.
After backing calls for an immediate ceasefire on Saturday, Sarwar suggested he was willing to work with the SNP, saying its Commons motion looked âpretty decentâ.
Sarwar said: âIf we can send a unified message from the UK parliament, then we should take that opportunity and I hope people will engage in good faith in trying to find that unified position.â
On Sunday, David Lammy sought to play down Wednesdayâs vote, arguing that party political debates in Westminster were not going to achieve peace in the region.
âYes, we will have a vote in parliament this week,â the shadow foreign secretary said. âBut itâs not that vote that will bring about a ceasefire. Itâs the diplomatic action, itâs Hamas, itâs Benjamin Netanyahu, itâs partners for peace saying the fighting must now stop.â
Starmer also cautioned Scottish delegates â who appeared enthused and energised by their best-attended party conference in decades â against complacency, telling them there was still âa mountain to climbâ to win back former Labour voters who had found a new political home with the SNP.
He took on the SNP leader, Humza Yousaf, whose message to voters since the new year has been that Starmer âdoesnât need Scotland to win the general electionâ, and that SNP MPs will âkeep [Starmer] honestâ on issues such as child poverty and the green-energy transition.
âNo matter what the SNP say, the Tories can win the next election,â Starmer said.
Addressing wavering voters, who polling indicates will be crucial to Labourâs election results across the UK, Starmer said: âI know there will always be a debate about Scotlandâs constitutional future. If, right now, you want a Britain that places Scotland at the heart of the Westminster debate, if you want a politics that is committed to smashing the class ceiling ⦠then thatâs the change we can deliver for Scotland.â
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