A permanent ceasefire in Israel and Palestine could risk more violence in the region, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say as he defends his position on the conflict.
The Labour leader will make a speech on Tuesday calling on global leaders to work towards restoring peace in the Middle East.
But Sir Keir will defend Labour’s calls for a humanitarian pause, rather than a ceasefire, to allow Palestinians to flee the fighting and for aid to be distributed.
He is expected to say that a permanent ceasefire at this stage could leave Hamas with the capability to carry out further attacks in Israel.
Humanitarian pauses typically last for short periods of time with the aim of providing aid and support rather than achieving long-term political solutions, according to the United Nations.
Ceasefires are intended to be long-term and usually seek to allow parties to engage in talks, including the possibility of reaching a permanent political settlement.
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IDF footage from Gaza ground operation
Defending Sir Keir’s position ahead of the speech, shadow minister Chris Bryant told Sky News: “I don’t know what a ceasefire would look like… when Hamas’s declared aim is to get rid of the Israeli state and to kill Jews, purely and simply to kill Jews.
“I don’t know how you can have a negotiation with people who engaged in the horrific attacks on completely innocent civilians, as Hamas did.”
However, several senior Labour figures have diverged from the official party line by backing a full ceasefire, including mayors Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and shadow ministers Yasmin Qureshi, Jess Phillips, and Imran Hussain.
The party is not likely to sack its internal critics from frontbench roles, and will instead “continue engaging” with them, shadow science secretary Peter Kyle said on Sunday.
However Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald was suspended from the parliamentary party on Monday, after what a Labour spokesman said were “deeply offensive” remarks made at a speech during a pro-Palestinian rally.
Mr McDonald said: “We won’t rest until we have justice. Until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea, can live in peaceful liberty.”
A slogan used by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, has been described as antisemitic by critics, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman claiming that it is “widely understood” to call for the destruction of Israel.
But the senior Labour MP said his reference to it was part of a “heartfelt plea” for peace, while former shadow chancellor John McDonnell called the suspension “nonsensical”.
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People ‘upset’ over Labour’s reaction to war
Sir Keir has previously provoked anger in the Labour party with his position on the conflict, after he appeared to suggest in an LBC interview that Israel had the the right to cut off the supply of power and water to Gaza.
He has since claimed he had only meant to say Israel had a general right to self-defence and he was answering a previous question – though the Labour leadership has acknowledged the comments caused “upset and hurt”.
Israel began a bombing campaign on Gaza after a surprise Hamas attack which saw at least 1,400 people killed and thousands more injured in Israel, and around 200 people taken hostage on 7 October.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has said more than 8,000 people have been killed in the 25-mile strip since then, with Israel also launching a ground offensive and a blockade on water, food, fuel and other essentials.
The former Labour MP, who now represents Coventry South as an independent, admitted she had launched the membership portal without her co-leader’s sign-off, but claimed she did so because she had been “sidelined” by a “sexist boys club”.
Her actions led to Mr Corbyn issuing his own statement, in which he urged members of the party – which has been given the interim name of Your Party – to ignore an “unauthorised” email urging them to become paid members and that legal advice was being taken.
In a fresh statement issued on Sunday evening, Ms Sultana acknowledged her supporters had been left feeling “demoralised” by the saga.
“For the sake of the party, and as an act of good faith, I will not be pursuing legal proceedings despite the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations against me,” she said.
“I know many people are feeling demoralised – I share that feeling. We find ourselves in a regrettable situation, but my motivation has always been to ensure the collective strength of our movement, put members first and build the genuinely democratic conference and socialist party we so urgently need.”
She added: “I am determined to reconcile and move forward. I am engaged in ongoing discussions with Jeremy, for whom, like all socialists of my generation, I have nothing but respect.”
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What is happening at Your Party?
Despite her current attempts to repair the row, Your Party reported itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office last week after the “false membership” system was “unilaterally launched” by Ms Sultana – which it said was its duty under the law.
Questions remain over the handling of the data, which, as outlined in Your Party’s privacy notice, is owned by the Peace and Justice Project, spearheaded by the former Labour leader and independent activist Pamela Fitzpatrick, who are listed as the directors on Companies House.
The Coventry MP said in a statement after the row broke out that “at no point was members’ data misused or put at risk” and that the portal was “properly launched in accordance with the party’s roadmap”.
The ICO watchdog, which upholds information rights in the public interest, can issue fines up to £17.5m or 4% of global turnover, or pass fraud and negligence cases to police.
A spokesperson for the ICO told Sky News on Friday: “We can confirm we have received a report and are assessing the information provided.”
Sir Ed Davey has branded Elon Musk a criminal and called for him to be prosecuted for “allowing online harm to children” on his social media platform X.
The Lib Dem leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter, is “inciting violence” and his social media platform is actively failing to protect children.
Sir Ed, speaking from the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, said Mr Musk could be prosecuted under the Online Safety Act, under which social media companies have a legal duty to protect children from harmful content and their directors are liable for criminal prosecution for breaching it.
Image: Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters
Asked if he is calling Mr Musk a criminal, Sir Ed did not miss a beat as he said: “Yes.
“Not just because of the awful things he’s done in inciting violence, and, for example, he says a civil war in our country is inevitable, that our democratically elected government should be overthrown.
“They were bad enough. But on his platform, they’re examples of adverse, pushing people on self-harm, on grooming, even selling videos showing paedophile acts, of child sex abuse acts and I think he should be held to account for them, him personally and his business.
“Ofcom now has the powers under the Online Safety Act.”
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He said if Mr Musk comes to the UK, he should be arrested.
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Sir Ed Davey enters conference with marching band
Mr Musk was accused of inciting violence during a march organised by Tommy Robinson in London last week.
He told the protest via video link: “This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business.
“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here.
“Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”
Image: Sir Ed Davey said Elon Musk should be arrested
Sir Ed said it is “shocking” that Mr Musk removed some of X’s child safety teams when he took over Twitter in 2022 and accused him of just being “interested in his bank account”.
“I’m interested in the safety of our children, and it is quite wrong that his business puts on these adverts,” said the Lib Dem leader.
“It’s disgusting and I hope everybody will agree with me and the Liberal Democrats that we should take really strong action against him.”
After Mr Musk acquired Twitter, many of its child safety staff were laid off or resigned, and the platform’s trust and safety council was disbanded.
Child protection experts have accused Mr Musk of leading a “race to the bottom on safety”.
Image: Elon Musk with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
Ofcom, the UK’s independent media regulator, which has the power to prosecute directors of social media platforms under the Online Safety Act, has launched an investigation into X’s handling of child sexual abuse content.
This is not the first time Sir Ed has hit out at the world’s richest man, as he called for the US ambassador to be summoned in February “to ask why an incoming US official is suggesting the UK government should be overthrown”.