Keir Starmer has said that there should be a lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ahead of an expected parliamentary debate on the issue.
With the Labour Party well ahead in the polls before an election later this year, Starmer is keen to present a united front to voters, but Israel’s war on Gaza has tested that unity.
Nearly a third of his lawmakers defied him last year to back calls for an immediate ceasefire, and the party had to withdraw support for a candidate over his comments about Israel earlier this month.
Addressing the Scottish Labour conference, Starmer said: “What we all want to see … [is] an end to the fighting not just now, not just for a pause, but permanently. A ceasefire that lasts … that is what must happen now.”
source: AlJazeera