LONDON: Members of the UK House of Commons are likely to vote on Wednesday on an amendment brought by the Scottish National Party on an immediate ceasefire and halt to fighting in Gaza.

The motion was moved last week by the Scottish National Party, which said it intends to seek a vote calling on the UK government to “join the international community in urgently pressing all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire”.

Last week, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “cannot just sit on their hands” while “collective punishment” takes place.

A second amendment calling for a ceasefire has been tabled by a Labour backbencher. House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will decide if the amendments are selected for consideration, which would then lead to a vote.

Labour party ‘in turmoil’ over proposal

On Tuesday evening, multiple news reports suggested the Labour party is in turmoil over the impending ceasefire vote. The Guardian reported that Labour leader Keir Starmer is facing growing pressure to support the Labour amendment backing a ceasefire in Gaza to avoid the possibility of his own MPs voting for an SNP motion that will call for an immediate halt to the fighting.

In recent weeks, Starmer has said that a ceasefire would not be appropriate because it would embolden Hamas, but his comments have left the Labour party divided.

Dozens of MPs defied their leader to call for a ceasefire, with at least 19 members of the frontbench publicly contradicting their party’s official position.

Labour’s current position on the conflict between Israel and Hamas is to call for a “humanitarian pause” rather than a full ceasefire, which is the same position as the UK government and the United States.

“Everyone is begging [Starmer] to do it,” one Labour MP told the paper. Starmer is facing a backlash from multiple shadow ministers, who the paper said are “ready to resign rather than vote against calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East”, which Starmer has refused to back.

Last week, The Guardian reported that Labour figures are urging MPs not to “undermine the party in Scotland” by supporting the SNP motion demanding a ceasefire.

BBC reported that Starmer is considering putting Labour’s position on the conflict to a vote on Wednesday in an effort to maintain party unity. The report said Labour may back a separate amendment condemning Israel’s actions, without calling for a ceasefire amid fears that several frontbenchers might resign their positions in order to vote for the SNP motion.

“It’s better to give the party a position to unify behind, rather than asking them to sit on their hands during the SNP vote,” a party source told BBC.

Digital news site Politic Home quoted a Labour source as saying that Labour frontbenchers “may be sacked” if they vote for the SNP amendment calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Ahead of the vote, Amnesty International in a statement said it’s a “vital moment for all MPs to show they truly support the protection of civilians in Gaza and Israel”.

“A negotiated and comprehensive ceasefire would put a stop to unlawful attacks by all parties, halt the rapidly rising civilian death toll in Gaza and enable aid agencies to get life-saving aid, water and medical supplies into Gaza in response to what have been staggering levels of human suffering,” said Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive.

“A ceasefire is also likely to be essential to securing the release of the hostages captured on Oct 7. We call on all parties to allow MPs to have a free vote on this vital issue, and call on all MPs to get behind the vote and add their voice to mounting international concern at the catastrophic loss of civilian life in Israel and Gaza.”

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2023