LONDON
\nMembers 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.
\nThe motion was moved last week by the Scottish National Party, which said it intends to seek a vote calling on the UK government to \u201cjoin the international community in urgently pressing all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire\u201d.
\nLast week, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer \u201ccannot just sit on their hands\u201d while \u201ccollective punishment\u201d takes place.
\nA 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.
\nLabour party \u2018in turmoil\u2019 over proposal
\nOn 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.
\nIn 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.
\nDozens of MPs defied their leader to call for a ceasefire, with at least 19 members of the frontbench publicly contradicting their party\u2019s official position. Labour\u2019s current position on the conflict between Israel and Hamas is to call for a \u201chumanitarian pause\u201d rather than a full ceasefire, which is the same position as the UK government and the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is begging [Starmer] to do it,\u201d one Labour MP told the paper. Starmer is facing a backlash from multiple shadow ministers, who the paper said are \u201cready to resign rather than vote against calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East\u201d, which Starmer has refused to back.<\/p>\n
Last week, The Guardian reported that Labour figures are urging MPs not to \u201cundermine the party in Scotland\u201d by supporting the SNP motion demanding a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
BBC reported that Starmer is considering putting Labour\u2019s 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\u2019s actions, without calling for a ceasefire amid fears that several frontbenchers might resign their positions in order to vote for the SNP motion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better to give the party a position to unify behind, rather than asking them to sit on their hands during the SNP vote,\u201d a party source told BBC.<\/p>\n
Digital news site Politic Home quoted a Labour source as saying that Labour frontbenchers \u201cmay be sacked\u201d if they vote for the SNP amendment calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the vote, Amnesty International in a statement said it\u2019s a \u201cvital moment for all MPs to show they truly support the protection of civilians in Gaza and Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 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,\u201d said Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK\u2019s Chief Executive.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-368232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n