Labour Party members are pressuring Keir Starmer to acknowledge that Israel is engaging in genocide in Gaza. A Unison-led emergency motion, which urged the government to halt arms sales to Israel, was supported, marking a setback for the government. The motion called for the acceptance of a UN report that accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of committing genocide.
During a passionate appeal on Monday, Unison’s General Secretary, Christina McAnea, urged the party to recognize the report’s conclusions. She emphasized the dire situation in Gaza, highlighting the high death toll among Palestinians and the widespread suffering. McAnea stressed the urgency of the situation, stating that waiting for confirmation from a court would be too late as the atrocities were ongoing.
“We cannot stand idly by as people are being killed, women and children are starving, and individuals are suffering,” McAnea declared. She called for immediate intervention to prevent further loss of innocent lives and avert a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, emphasizing the Labour Party’s history of advocating for peace in the Middle East.
The non-binding emergency motion, passed by a show of hands, called on the government to take all possible actions to prevent genocide in Gaza and to fully suspend arms trade with Israel. It also demanded a cessation of trade with illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy echoed the call for government action to prevent genocide.
On September 16, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry determined that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.