(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak resisted calls for the UK to back a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as both he and opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer came under pressure to shift their stance on the conflict.
“The first and most important principle is that Israel has the right to defend itself under international law,” Sunak told Parliament on Wednesday. But he added that a “safer environment” is needed to address humanitarian needs and for Israeli hostages held by Hamas to be released. That “necessitates specific pauses, as distinct from a ceasefire,” he said. His spokesman later told reporters that a full ceasefire would be too beneficial to Hamas.
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The Israel-Hamas war has severely strained community tensions in the UK that Sunak and other political leaders are struggling to navigate. The prime minister again referred to the aid Britain is sending to Gaza, reflecting the political balancing act between his support for Israel's military response to Hamas's attack this month, while acknowledging the struggles of Palestinians that are angering members of Britain's Muslim community.
That Sunak was responding to a question from the Scottish National Party, rather than the main opposition Labour Party, was also revealing. Starmer's support for Israel's right to defend itself aligns Labour with the UK government while also serving to distance the party from past accusations of anti-Semitism. Yet his stance also makes members of his party uncomfortable, not least because many British Muslims have traditionally voted Labour.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Starmer focused his six questions to Sunak mainly on domestic issues including housebuilding. But later on Wednesday, he is set to meet some Labour Members of Parliament as he seeks to calm tensions. “We fully recognize that this is a very difficult time for lots of people,” a spokesman for Starmer told reporters.
Starmer's interview with LBC radio last week was interpreted as him backing Israel's “right” to cut off power and water from Gaza. The Labour leader later acknowledged the “distress” caused by the remarks and tried to clarify his position, arguing that he did not mean to back a siege on Gaza.
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Yet the row has continued, and the South Wales Islamic Centre accused Starmer of having “gravely misrepresented” his meeting with Muslim leaders on Sunday. The Labour leader had shared images of the meeting, saying he repeated calls for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and for water and power to be restored.
Muslim leaders contested his version of events, saying “there was a robust and frank conversation which reflected the sentiments Muslim communities are feeling at this time.”
Meanwhile at least 37 Labour MPs have backed a non-binding motion in Parliament for a ceasefire in the region, a position Starmer has not supported. Other backers include former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was expelled from the parliamentary party over his response to allegations of anti-Semitism on his watch.
But in a sign of how the Israel-Hamas conflict is exacerbating tensions across the political spectrum, two Conservative MPs have also signed the motion expressing their “deep alarm” at Israel's military bombardment and “total siege” of Gaza.
Sunak's spokesman, Max Blain, said a British military plane is on its way to Egypt to deliver 21 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza, part of the $36 million of help the UK has already announced. He also said the idea of “pauses” in the conflict to allow humanitarian efforts to proceed in Gaza are being discussed at the United Nations Security Council.
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