KEIR Starmer is putting a “whiff of power” before his obligations on Palestine, the SNP have said, amid reports the Labour leader is planning to delay the recognition of Palestinian statehood.
He had pledged to recognise Palestinian statehood and said this would be part of any Middle East peace accord with Israel.
Starmer said it was “very important we have a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel”.
However, The Times reports that a source close to Starmer said that British recognition of Palestine was a “process” and would have the most impact if done in “co-ordination with allies”.
Members of his inner circle are reportedly concerned such a move could isolate him from allies such as the US, although the source denied this would have any influence.
The SNP’s foreign affairs spokesperson Brendan O’Hara has now accused Starmer and Rishi Sunak of having “dithered and delayed” for too long on the issue, warning that innocent Palestinians have no time left for Western leaders to “find their moral compass”.
The death toll in Gaza has now reportedly passed 37,700 since the beginning of Israel’s bombardment.
O’Hara commented: “Yet again we’re seeing Sir Keir Starmer put a whiff of power before his moral obligations.
“When SNP MPs first sought a ceasefire vote in the House of Commons, the Labour Party cynically played political games with the motion, all while innocent men, women and children were dying from Israeli bombs and starvation.
“And now, as the assault on Gaza intensifies and the death toll rises, we see more of the dither and delay that has defined Starmer and Sunak’s response to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
Earlier this week, former first minister Humza Yousaf also urged Keir Starmer (above) to act quickly on the issue in his first speech at Holyrood since resigning.
O’Hara added: “Innocent Gazans have no time left to wait for Western leaders to find their moral compass and finally do the right thing.
“They need to see sustained action to secure an immediate ceasefire, an end of arms sales to Israel and the recognition of the Palestinian state.
“Sir Keir Starmer may be putting his political aspirations before the Palestinian people, but the SNP never will.
“We have consistently stood with the innocent people of Palestine, and SNP MPs will continue to hold the Labour Party to account.
“The Labour Party must, without any equivocation or delay, finally recognise the state of Palestine as a key first step in the path towards a peaceful, two-state solution in the Middle East.
“Westminster should finally show some international leadership that has been so sorely lacking from both the Tories and Labour.”
Last month, the Labour leader downplayed suggestions the recognition of the Palestinian state by the UK would happen anytime soon.
He said: “It has got to be at the right time in the process because we need a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.
“We don’t have either of those at the moment, and therefore it has got to be at the point of the process where we could see both of those outcomes.”
