UK Labour leader faces dissent over Israel-Hamas stance

LONDON (AFP) - A row over the UK main opposition Labour leader's stance on Israel's war with Hamas escalated Wednesday, with the resignation of one of the party's top team.

Keir Starmer, who looks set to become Britain's next prime minister at an election expected next year, according to polling, has refused to call for a permanent ceasefire. Instead, the former human rights lawyer has called for a humanitarian pause to Israel's bombardment to allow much-needed aid to reach ordinary Palestinians unable to leave the coastal enclave.

His stance, however, has caused disquiet within the party. In a letter to Starmer, Imran Hussain, the party's spokesman on workers' rights, said he wanted to be a strong advocate for a humanitarian ceasefire. "A ceasefire is essential to ending the bloodshed, to ensuring that enough aid can pass into Gaza and reach those most in need, and to help ensure the safe return of the Israeli hostages," he wrote.

Hussain added that he "unequivocally condemned" Hamas's October 7 attacks and firmly agreed that "every country has the right to defend itself". But he said this could "never become a right to deliberately violate international law on protecting civilians or to commit war crimes".

Starmer, who took over from hard-left former leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2020, has faced a deepening battle to maintain discipline in his top team on the Gaza conflict. At least 16 of his shadow cabinet have either called for a ceasefire or shared others' calls on social media.

A Labour spokesman said a ceasefire would freeze the conflict and "leave hostages in Gaza and Hamas with the infrastructure and capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on October 7". "International law must be followed at all times and innocent civilians must be protected. Labour is calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting."