U.K.’s Labour calls for ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ in West Asia ahead of crucial parliamentary vote

Labour Party calls for immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas amid deep divisions, ahead of UK House of Commons debate.

The U.K.’s Labour Party has called for a “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas as it attempts to prevent a second rebellion among its MPs, who are deeply divided on Israel’s retaliation in Gaza for Hamas’s October 7 attack on its soil. With more than 29,000 Palestinians already killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel has threatened to expand operations and undertake a ground invasion of the city of Rafah, unless hostages are returned.

Labour’s legislative move comes as the U.K. House of Commons gets set to debate a Scottish National Party (SNP) motion on Wednesday afternoon that calls for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel”. When the SNP last introduced a motion on the West Asia conflict, in November 2023, 56 Labour MPs, including eight frontbenchers had quit the party to support the motion.

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The SNP welcomed what it called a “long overdue U-tun” by Labour leader Keir Starmer whose party is expected to win the general elections later this year.

“It’s telling that it took the SNP to insert a backbone into the Labour party and act as Westminster’s conscience on this conflict,” SNP parliamentary leader Stephen Flynn said in a statement.

Labour introduced its amendment to address what its shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy called “unbalanced” language in the SNP amendment.