UK pro-Palestinian groups celebrated after Labour Party members voted to recognize the war in Gaza as a genocide, against the party line.
During the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, which began Sunday, an emergency motion was brought that called on the party to accept the findings of a recent UN report that found Israel to be in breach of four of the five criteria for genocide.
The motion, passed on Monday, also called for an end to arms sales to Israel, comprehensive sanctions, a ban on trade with internationally deemed illegal settlements, and full access to humanitarian aid.
This marks the first time the Labour Party has officially recognized Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide. Although this runs contrary to the official position of the government ministers and cabinet, it is still highly significant. As the New Statesman pointed out, “Even if government ministers are yet to recognize what is happening in Gaza as a genocide, that is now the official line of the party they represent.”
Daniel Martin of The Telegraph wrote, “Sir Keir Starmer has been humiliated at his own conference.”
Following the news, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said, “Huge defeat for the government as Labour conference votes that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”
“The government must listen and act. Stop arming Israel now!”
Recognizing genocide a 'huge feat'
Sasha Das Gupta, the co-chair of left-wing political group Momentum, said: “Labour conference voting for the government to employ all means to end Israel’s genocide is a huge feat.
She called on the government to listen to its own members and introduce a full arms embargo against Israel.
Mothin Ali, co-deputy leader of the Green Party, said, “By agreeing that the Israeli regime is committing genocide in Gaza, Labour members have exposed their leadership for not only denying what the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded and most of the public believe but also of complicity by continuing to arm Israel.”
He called on Keir Starmer and his ministers to follow suit.
However, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy reiterated his stance that it is not for the government to make the decision on whether or not Israel is committing genocide.
“It is for the ICJ, with their judges and judiciary, and for the ICC to determine the issue of genocide in relation to the convention; it is not for politicians like me to do that,” he added.
The Jewish Labour Movement said it was “hugely disappointed” and lamented the fact that the motion neglected to mention October 7 or Hamas.
“This emergency, non-binding motion is not the route to the two-state solution,” it said, adding that “the outcome is not what we’d expect to see from a party of government.”