A Northern Irish MP compared Israel to Vladimir Putin’s Russia and said it was guilty of “genocide” in Gaza.
At Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Claire Hanna told MPs that relatives of her constituents in Belfast South and Mid Down had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
Hanna told the Commons: “None of us in this chamber can end their nightmare, but we can do more. And this government have rightly used every tool at their disposal: sanctions on arms and trade and officials against Putin's Russia.
“When will Israel be held to the same standards for genocide?”, she asked.
The SDLP leader urged the government to “confirm further sanctions, recognise the state of Palestine and offer some hope to beleaguered Gazans”.
Starmer responded by saying that he was “sorry to hear the dreadful loss of the families of her constituents” and that there had been “far too many examples like that.”
He went on to welcome the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, adding: “We desperately need that now in Gaza” as it would “provide a space for the hostages to be allowed out”, noting they had been held in Hamas captivity “there for a very, very long time”.
The ceasefire would also allow for “desperately needed aid to go in (to Gaza) at speed and at scale”, the prime minister said, repeating the government’s long-held view that the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians was “the only peaceful way to resolve this ongoing conflict”.
Last month, the prime minister rebuked an independent pro-Gaza MP who described Israel’s war against Hamas as a genocide. He told the Commons at the time: “I’m well aware of the definition of genocide, and that is why I've never referred to it as genocide.”
After PMQs, a Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that the government’s position on whether Israel was committing genocide was unchanged.
In her exchange with the prime minister, Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch took aim at the Starmer’s previous positions on immigration and law and order.
Badenoch said the Labour leader “had voted against more than 100 measures to control migration” and that he “backed criminals over law-abiding British people”.
She also took aim at Attorney General Lord Hermer, telling the Commons: "He said it was wrong when the Conservatives took away Shamima Begum's citizenship. Now he has appointed her defence lawyer as his Attorney General."
Lord Hermer KC, who is Jewish, and former head of chambers at Matrix, acted for human rights group Liberty who claimed that depriving Begum – who left the UK age 15 to join ISIS – of her British citizenship undermines the rule of law and the right to a fair trial.
Starmer responded that as director of public prosecutions he was responsible for prosecuting “hundreds and thousands of criminals” and likened Conservative complaints to “the arsonist complaining about the people trying to put the fire out”.
He went on: “All they do is come every week with more and more complaints. Just wait till they get their hands on the people that created the mess that we are clearing up.”
