A JOINT letter signed by leading politicians in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales was sent to Labour prime minister Keir Starmer yesterday calling for an immediate recall of Parliament to ‘impose immediate sanctions’ on Israel and for Starmer to ‘act now’ to put pressure on Israel to end the genocidal war in Gaza.
MPs, members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs), Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and Welsh Senedd (MSs) signed the letter with other main parties adding their support including Sinn Fein, Alliance, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and People Before Profit.
The joint letter from seven leading political parties across the UK said they are ‘united in our deep concern and opposition to the government’s ongoing support for the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza.’
It added: ‘We note your stated September deadline for reassessing the UK’s position. Given the urgency of the crisis, this is far too late. Every day of delay means more children starve, more families are torn apart, and more lives are lost. You must act now. The UK cannot be complicit in prolonging this tragedy.’
Starmer has previously said that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions which include agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two state solution.
The prospect of a two-state solution has been dead in the water for ages, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly repudiating it on numerous occasions.
The intention of the Zionist regime is to completely eradicate Palestinians from Gaza through genocidal murder and deliberate starvation.
This plan has been advanced by the decision of the Israeli war cabinet for Israeli Occupation Force troops to take over Gaza City and drive one million Palestinians out of the city and into the south of Gaza as a first phase in a full-scale takeover of the Strip.
Starmer’s pathetic calls for a ceasefire and for the Zionist regime to revive the prospect of a two-state solution is nothing more than a desperate attempt to distract attention away from the ongoing complicity of the Labour government in supplying arms and intelligence to the Israeli murder machine.
The letter from leading politicians calling for an immediate recall of Parliament to agree sanctions on Israel and end the UK’s complicity in the mass murder of over 61,000, mainly women and children, and the ongoing starvation of two million Palestinians in Gaza is a direct reflection of the massive pressure from workers and youth for real action to end Zionist genocide.
The leader of the SDLP, Claire Hanna, said yesterday: ‘Today the SDLP is leading parties in giving expression to the despair and anger at the UK Government’s failure to stand up to Netanyahu.’
Demanding an immediate recall of Parliament to send ‘a clear message’ to the Zionist regime to stop genocide is also a reflection of the fear stalking bourgeois politicians that the anger of workers and youth has reached a boiling point that demands the safety valve of appeals for Starmer to ‘stand up’ to Netanyahu.
Starmer’s Labour government isn’t going to stand up to Netanyahu – who has been given the green light by Donald Trump to carry out a genocidal war to assert imperialism’s domination over the Middle East.
The time for protesting over Gaza is long over.
The working class has the power and must use its strength to force the leaders of the TUC to act against Starmer’s government.
The annual conference of the TUC will start on Sunday 7th September.
At this conference, trade unions must insist that the TUC immediately call an indefinite general strike to bring down the genocide-complicit Labour government, replacing it with a workers government that will immediately recognise the state of Palestine and provide it with all the material support required to defeat Zionist occupation and ensure the victory of the Palestinian revolution.
Join the Young Socialists lobby of the TUC on September 7th to demand a general strike in support of Palestine.