“The denial of humanitarian aid, cutting off water supplies, withholding food, electricity, fuel and medical supplies are war crimes. The Labour Leader, a human rights lawyer, knows this yet refuses to speak out.”
By Labour Outlook
A statement criticising the Labour Party Leadership’s failure to stand up for international law and human rights in Gaza, and calling on them to work for a ceasefire, has been signed by over 170 local Labour Party members.
One local Labour Party signatory to the statement said, “People will have read about the growing number of Labour Party MPs, Councillors and other officials who disagree with the LP leadership’s view. Two of our local Haringey LP Councillors have now resigned in protest. We think that dissenting voices amongst ordinary members of the Labour Party also need to be heard.
“A recent YouGov poll shows that 76% of the UK public and 89% of Labour voters support a ceasefire. We recently opened up our statement to other constituency LP members. Already around 100 more members from 48 CLPs have signed and half of the total number of signatories are local LP officers.”
The statement condemns the killings and kidnappings of innocent Israelis committed by Hamas. It also states that Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment targeted at ordinary Palestinians and contravenes international law. The statement calls on Labour’s leaders to condemn all war crimes, including those committed by Israel, to work proactively for an immediate ceasefire, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor and the restoration of all essential services, medical equipment, food , water and aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza.
You can read the statement in full below:
We the undersigned are Labour Party members.
The party leadership’s refusal to condemn the war crimes committed by the Israeli Government against the Palestinian people is unconscionable.
We feel compelled to make this statement because of the failure of the Labour leadership under Keir Starmer to stand up for international law and human rights.
We condemn the killings and kidnappings of innocent Israelis committed by Hamas. We also condemn Israel’s bombardment of Gaza – this collective punishment targeted at ordinary Palestinians contravenes international law. The shelling of homes, schools, hospitals and UNWRA facilities and the forced displacement of one million Palestinians are gross violations of international law.
More than half the citizens of Gaza are aged under 18 and over a third of those killed in the last 10 days are children. Children have special rights to protection under the Geneva Convention.
The denial of humanitarian aid, cutting off water supplies, withholding food, electricity, fuel and medical supplies are war crimes. The Labour Leader, a human rights lawyer, knows this yet refuses to speak out.
We cannot remain silent at this moment when the future of the Middle East stands at the abyss.
We call on the Labour Party leadership to condemn all war crimes, including those committed by Israel, to work proactively for an immediate ceasefire, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor and the restoration of all essential services, medical equipment, food , water and aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza.
- You can view and sign the statement being circulated by local Labour Party members here.
- You can view a list of Labour MPs, MSPs, Welsh MSs and regional representatives who have demanded a ceasefire here.
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Thanks for posting this. To date 170 members of the party have now signed from CLPs all over the country. This will allow grass roots voices to be expressed – even where MPs and councillors are not speaking out.
Please could you post a link so that more can sign. We need many more.