Israel has right to defend itself, Labour frontbencher tells dissenting MPs

A Labour frontbencher has said he “empathises” with MPs angry about the party leadership’s stance on the crisis in Gaza, but stood by the position taken by Sir Keir Starmer.

It comes as the Labour leader has sought to reassure MPs and grassroots members in recent days amid anger about previous remarks on the Israel-Hamas war, as well as his resistance to joining calls for a ceasefire.

The Labour leader has joined Rishi Sunak, the US and most recently the EU in pushing for “humanitarian pauses”, but remains firm in his backing for Israel’s right to defend itself.

Sir Keir met with Muslim Labour MPs earlier this week, amid a row over comments in an LBC interview in which he appeared to back Israel cutting off power and water in Gaza.

The comments, which he has since rowed back, prompted resignations among Labour councillors and angered the party’s MPs, even those on the front benches as shadow ministers.

Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed offered a strong defence of the leadership’s position, which he said he did not expect would hurt the party electorally.

“I completely understand and empathise with colleagues who are seeing what’s going on in Gaza and are just feeling desperate, so many viewers will be looking at those scenes today and feel just anguish at the pain and suffering that is going on,” he told Sky News.

“But what I would say to colleagues is if this attack that Israel suffered had been on the UK, if it had been on the US, our state, the United States and our state would have sought to defend ourselves to protect our citizens by dismantling the capability of a terrorist organisation that carried it out, that applies to Israel too, they have the right under international law to do that.

“But in taking that work, they must continue to follow international law as they carry it out, but long-term, the only solution to this crisis is not going to be military.

“It can only be negotiated politically and we need the whole international community to focus on it much more than has been the case over recent decades.”

More than 250 Muslim Labour councillors urged Sir Keir and deputy leader Angela Rayner to back an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, with his original comments on LBC also sparking resignations from councillors.

Mr Reed told LBC that doing the “right” thing was the priority, not votes.

Asked if the row could have an impact at the ballot box, he said: “I think (it) won’t because and the reason I think that is in politics, you should do the right thing, not the electorally expedient thing.”