‘Why Labour must back an immediate ceasefire’

Gaza, the United Nations has said, “is being strangled”.

It is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, home to 2.3 million people, half of whom are children. Even before the recent violence, it had been besieged for sixteen years, with access by land, air and water blockaded. Back in 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron called it a “prison camp”. The result has been a near-permanent humanitarian crisis.

Today, that crisis has turned into unmitigated horror. Relentless Israeli bombing has decimated neighbourhoods, transforming residential building blocks into mountains of rubble. In just six days, 6,000 bombs rained down upon the enclave. That’s more bombs than Nato forces dropped in an entire year of intense fighting in the Afghanistan war.

An Israeli military spokesperson was frank about the purpose: the emphasis was “damage, not accuracy”, they said. Some 50 families have been entirely wiped out: every living relative — young and old alike — dead.

Israel has imposed a “total siege”, cutting off food, water, fuel and electricity to Gaza. The result is “a health crisis on the brink of explosion” according to Action Against Hunger.

Last week, the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people from northern Gaza. That was described as “impossible… without devastating humanitarian consequences” by the United Nations. The World Health Organisation called it a “death sentence for the sick and injured”.

Hamas’ attacks are appalling, but don’t excuse Israel’s response

The attack by Hamas that preceded this wave of violence was appalling. I absolutely condemn those actions and I join the calls for the release of the hostages.

Just as I cannot imagine the fear and anguish of the families of those taken hostage, nor can I imagine the terror of Palestinian families facing Israeli bombardment. And on this question, international law is clear: Hamas’ crimes in no way excuse what we have witnessed since.

Indiscriminate bombing and obliterating whole neighbourhoods; collective punishment and starving a population of necessities; ordering 1.1 million people to leave their homes and forcibly displacing them – these are war crimes under international law. The United Nations and others have said as much.

But these war crimes have been given the green-light by political leaders in the UK and beyond. Even after an Israeli defence official promised to turn Gaza “into a city of tents”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has refused to condemn Israel for its flagrant violations of international law.

Yesterday he told the world that the Israeli government was “taking every precaution to avoid harming civilians”, seemingly ignoring the more than 1,000 Palestinian children killed in the war so far.

At the UN security council on Wednesday, to our shame the UK refused to support a resolution calling for Israel to allow humanitarian corridors into Gaza and a pause in fighting. The resolution was vetoed by the US, even as it was backed by the likes of France and Japan.

We have a special responsibility to the Palestinians

Britain has a special responsibility to the Palestinian people.

Not only has the UK licensed more than £442 million worth of arms to Israel since 2015 – meaning it could be British weapons used in war crimes – but it was under the British mandate in 1948 that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes, a tragedy known to Palestinians as the Nakba.

Since then, Palestinians have lived under 56 years of illegal military occupation in the West Bank, the longest in modern history. And whilst Palestinians across the world have had their right to return refused, in spite of it being enshrined in international law, many Palestinian families being displaced in Gaza are already refugees, having been expelled in 1948.

Today, as a former executive director of Human Rights Watch warns that Israel appears to be on the verge of “an illegal process of ethnic cleansing”, Palestinians fear they are on the brink of a second Nakba. That would be an unthinkable catastrophe.

Members are angry about Labour’s stance

Labour should take-up this historic responsibility, championing the equal rights and dignity of Palestinians and Israelis. But whilst the party leadership has said “Israel should follow international law”, that rings hollow so long as it is silent on Israel’s blatant war crimes.

The effects of this position are already being felt. I have been contacted by Labour members from across the country, angry at the party’s position. Dozens of Labour councillors have resigned in protest, while the leadership has had to arrange special meetings to address the issue.

These sentiments are felt by people of all faiths and none, but it is particularly strongly felt in Britain’s Arab and Muslim communities, where feelings of being ignored and taken for granted are taking hold.

And we have already seen a sharp rise in both Islamophobia and antisemitism, reminding us of the vital importance of bringing our communities together, refusing to let anyone be dehumanised or scapegoated.

Speaking for myself, I have already been subject to grotesque Islamophobic abuse, with absurd and deeply hurtful claims that I “support Hamas” shared on social media.

How many more deaths before we condemn Israel with one voice?

The call for an immediate ceasefire – supported by me and 52 MPs from across Parliament – is backed by 89% of Labour voters and 76% of all voters.

Our political leaders should listen.https://t.co/xfqvudjDAH pic.twitter.com/nyBrSVjrQL

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) October 19, 2023

Just as the Iraq war did lasting damage to Labour’s relationship with Britain’s Arab and Muslim communities, there is a real risk that could happen again – unless the party starts to highlight the war crimes being committed against the Palestinian people and calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Polling released yesterday shows this would be overwhelmingly popular with the broader public too, with 76% of voters (and a massive 89% of Labour voters) backing the call for an immediate ceasefire. It is a call that has been made by scores of leading aid agencies, from Oxfam and Save the Children, to Christian Aid and Islamic Relief.

An end to the war on Gaza is just the first step.

A just and lasting peace – with the fundamental rights of all Palestinians and Israelis protected – is possible only with an end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and the systematic discrimination of Palestinian citizens in Israel. But with every new death and each new airstrike, that hope feels more remote. As hard as it may seem now, we cannot let that hope be destroyed.

In Prime Minister’s Questions this week, I wanted to challenge Rishi Sunak.

I didn’t get picked, so I will instead conclude this piece by asking my question to the Labour party: How many more Palestinians must die before we speak with one voice, condemning Israel for violating international law and calling for an immediate ceasefire?

LabourList has also run pieces by Labour Friends of Israel director Michael Rubin and British Future director Sunder Katwala on the conflict, its implications in the UK and Labour’s response.