A massive march in support of Palestinian rights took place in London on Saturday and there were several other demonstrations in cities around the UK as well. These protests – and another has been called for Saturday October 21^st – challenge the elite political consensus that is now marginalising Palestinian rights.

Parliamentary debate

Yesterday the House of Commons debated the situation in Israel and Gaza. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition were in lockstep in support of Israel, with scant mention of the entirely avoidable humanitarian catastrophe which the latter is now inflicting on the Palestinian people living in Gaza. In contrast, left MPs who were called to speak were able to raise their plight – but, under the rule of the debate, only in the form of short questions. Former Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon MP said:

“The massacre of Israeli civilians was a heinous act of terrorism that we all utterly condemn and the hostages must be released immediately. In the words of the United Nations Secretary-General, ‘the horrific acts by Hamas do not justify responding with collective punishment of the Palestinian people.’

“But that is what we are seeing in Gaza, with civilian areas bombed and food, electricity, water and medicines all cut off. Such collective punishment is a war crime under the Geneva conventions, so will the Prime Minister take this opportunity to make it clear to the Israeli Government that this collective punishment of Palestinian civilians must end immediately?”

Rishi Sunak responded with stunning complacency: “Of course, Israel will act within international humanitarian law.”

Bradford MP Imran Hussain, who rejected a £1,000 donation from Tony Blair in 2015 because of his involvement in the Iraq War, also contributed: “I join this House in its condemnation of the bloodshed in Israel and Palestine. The 2 million Palestinians in the open-air prison of Gaza faced a dire humanitarian emergency long before today, yet indiscriminate airstrikes and siege tactics have turned what was a critical emergency into a devastating catastrophe. Will the Prime Minister make it clear to the Israeli Government that laying siege to civilians in Gaza by cutting off food, water, power and Toggle showing location of medical supplies and through indiscriminate airstrikes killing civilians is in clear violation of international law? Just what is the international community doing to stop the horrific and inhuman treatment of Palestinians?”

Sunak: “Hamas are the entity responsible for the suffering we are seeing.”

Also from Bradford, Naz Shah MP, who in 2021 said that “if any more Palestinian blood is unjustly spilled under a perverted interpretation of a right to self-defence,” she would push for Israel to be tried before the International Criminal Court for war crimes, yesterday pointed out: “The use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas against civilians is illegal. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported the use of white phosphorous against civilians in Gaza. Has the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office received confirmation of those reports? If such weapons have been used against civilian populations in Gaza, what will the Prime Minister’s response be?”

In response, Sunak pleaded lack of full access to the relevant information and an inability to verify the facts.

Liverpool MP and Campaign Group member Kim Johnson was one of several backbench MPs who raised “the increasing numbers of deaths of innocent Palestinians”, pointing out that “the forced mass displacement of Gazans is leading to a massive humanitarian crisis.”

Nottingham MP Nadia Whittome said: “The targeted killing of civilians, whether Israeli or Palestinian, must be condemned, as must the kidnapping of hostages. The civilians of Gaza should not be made to pay the price for the atrocities of Hamas. Blocking children’s access to food goes beyond self-defence; it is a violation of international law. The World Health Organisation has described forcing patients to relocate from hospitals as tantamount to a death sentence for some. Will the Prime Minister do anything he can to convince the Israeli Government to cancel the relocation order, lift the siege and end indiscriminate bombing?”

Sunak’s response might have been read from an Israel Defence Forces press release: “It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians in Gaza; it is Hamas who are enmeshing themselves in the civilian population and using people as human shields.”

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP sat through the debate for two hours, but was not called.  The question he planned to ask was: “In a densely populated area like Gaza, no matter what assurances are given by the Israeli Defence Force, the effects of any bombing is inevitably indiscriminate and bound to cause loss of civilian life. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to move South but now the Israelis are bombing the South, including at the Rafah crossing into Egypt. This is so contrary to international human rights law it must be construed as a war crime. A refusal to act to prevent this surely makes political leaders complicit. Why can’t UK political leaders accept and act on this?”

Members are leaving

The World Health Organization has denounced Israel’s evacuation order to hospitals in northern Gaza as a “death sentence for the sick and injured”. The respected Human Rights Watch organisation says “Israel has used white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, putting civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries.”

Prominent members of the Labour Party are leaving. Two Oxford Councillors, Cllr Shaista Aziz and Cllr Amar Latif have been joined by Labour Councillor Amna Abdullatif of Manchester City Council, who said she was appalled by the lack of humanity being shown by the Party.”

Lester Holloway, editor of The Voice newspaper, has also resigned. In a twitter thread, he explained, “I cannot keep my Labour Party membership while Sir Keir Starmer greenlights Israel to carry out mass murder in Gaza.”

He said, ”It make me sick to my stomach to see Labour, Tories and Lib Dems endorsing what is effectively ethnic cleansing and could yet turn into genocide, with such flagrant disregard for international law while ignoring the biggest charities and multilateral agencies in the world,” adding, “Just as Black Lives Matter does not mean white lives don’t matter, standing up for Gaza is not in any way excusing what Hamas did last week. But the violence has to stop, and any party that endorses innocent families being killed does not deserve support.”

An anonymous Labour source described members quitting the party over its position on Gaza as “shaking off the fleas”. Holloway responded: “So Labour is going to dehumanise its own members too?”

Labour officials have told MPs and members not to take part in Palestine-related protests, according to reports. Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty additionally noted: “A note was sent to local Labour committees, stating that members could not discuss the Israel-Gaza conflict in their meetings. Even in the run-up to Iraq, Tony Blair did not ban local parties from discussing it and nor did he ban them from outright opposition.”

Writing in the inewspaper, Labour’s former Director of Policy Andrew Fisher said members would not be silenced: “To the Labour membership, committed to universal human rights and international law, the people of Gaza matter just as much as the people of Israel. As war crimes are committed, and thousands killed, we must not be silenced.”

Na’amod

Momentum’s statement on the situation can be read here. Laboure CND’s statement is here. The UK-based Jewish organisation Na’amod, which defines itself as “a movement of Jews in the UK seeking to end our community’s support for Israel’s occupation and apartheid, and to mobilise it in the struggle for freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis” has also today issued a statement:

“We are watching as Israel’s politicians espouse genocidal views and the IDF enacts collective punishment, forcibly displacing 1 million Palestinians and laying the groundwork for further crimes against humanity. Now more than ever we must mourn the dead and fight for the living.

“Every day we are faced with news of further escalation in Gaza, with Israel cutting off the supply of water, food, fuel, electricity, medicine and aid and relentless bombing which has killed over 2,800 people in 9 days. These are war crimes.

“The British government’s response to the conflict has been entirely inadequate. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stated his ‘unequivocal’ support for Israel, and Suella Braverman has said that it ‘may not be legitimate’ to wave a Palestinian flag on British streets.

“As Jews in the United Kingdom, we demand our government do better. We call for justice, an end to the siege, an end to the violence.

“There is no military solution to this crisis. We call on our government and our communal leaders to condemn Israel’s brutality against Gaza.”

Na’amod have issued this appeal:

Finally, one can donate to the Action For Humanity Palestine Emergency Appeal here.

Article contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.