Parliament votes on whether to label Hamas a terrorist organisation, despite appeals from Palestinian groups
Labour’s right-wing leader Keir Starmer has ordered the party’s MPs to vote in favour of banning Hamas as a terrorist organisation in a parliamentary ballot this evening, despite appeals from Palestinian groups.
The Tory move has been condemned as an extension of British colonialism, with a spokesperson for a coalition of Palestinian groups saying that it:
directly targets and antagonizes the Palestinian people and denies their legitimate rights to struggle for liberation from occupation.
[Labelling Hamas a terror organisation gives Israel] a green light to continue its aggression and crimes against our Palestinian people, which is the responsibility of the British government.
Several Labour MPs are expected to defy the order. Keir Starmer has described himself as an ‘unequivocal’ supporter of zionism. By contrast, he has taken no action against the widespread racism and Islamophobia of the Labour right.
Only three years ago, Labour’s conference was marked by hundreds of Palestinian flags in a show of solidarity.
And this year, the party’s conference strongly backed a motion ordering Labour to support heavy sanctions ‘apartheid’ Israel, despite a media blackout and an intense campaign by Labour to rig the vote. Keir Starmer and his foreign affairs spokesperson Lisa Nandy quickly said they would ignore the decision of Labour’s supposedly sovereign body.
Skwawkbox view:
Starmer’s order marks a new low in the Labour right’s decision to side with oppressors against the oppressed.
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The Israeli Government(UK branch), playing to type.
I wonder if the Tories are being, similarly, Whipped? It’ll be one way of flushing out the Zionists.
Who votes For – who votes Against.
Not to mention the abstainers, on the fence is like voting Green or any of the other minor/new parties! That option should be removed! Yes/No or make way for MPs who know what their constituents want and are not afraid to stand by their convictions of what is right and what is wrong.
The previous vote on Social Care the yeas and nays only made up 500ish votes where are the other 150, they could have swung that vote.
Sadly for Palestine the Sheeple have been Zombified by MSM, so this will probably go through!
The damage the Bastards, who did not vote for or connived, sabotaged, lied,etc against a Democratic Socialist UK Labour Government, will see us take more than the 43 years of Tory Hell, we already suffered. Most of us won’t know anything other than a TORY Government for the rest of our days, whether that is Thatcher’s Conservative TORIES or Thatcher’s Neo-New-Labour TORIES. Her bones will rattle, with joy in her box, as we suffer and die.
Hamas, PLO and Israel.
https://theintercept.com/2018/03/02/israel-criou-hamas-palestina/
Of course Starmer is going to vote for Hamas as a terrorist group. Question is why does he need to whip his MPs into voting for the bill. If he was that confident he wouldn’t have to take this action.
Alas as far as him and his group are concerned it’s all out war on anything remotely in support of Palestine. The next one will be the banning of BDS.
I often sit here wondering where all this will end. A country where Palestine once was but doesn’t exist anymore. A Palestinian people who are banished/expelled from not only their land, but the country itself.
So often countries have behaved appallingly to their population. While the world has not intervened, instead they’ve collectively shook their heads in destain. All because they are not advantageous or strategically placed to said countries. Is this one of the reasons why Israel is so important to the west.
Maybe Starmer’s trilateral commission flavour of right wing is different than the old ‘third way’ blairista only-way-is-up type?
The various types of economically Right are a funny lot, cliques within cliques within cliques – probably being viciously anti-democratic socialist is the only thing that unites them. 😄.
The usual suspects should vote against.
Keep digging, Keith, you’re almost out of sight.
“The Tory move has been condemned as an extension of British colonialism…”
More like eagerness by the pro-establishment Labour party to obediently serve the new ‘top dog’, the horrendously self-serving United States of America and its neoliberal top table, that Starmer can be trusted by them
It did so on the 9/11 Narrative and its subsequent “war on terrorism” and is doing so again with the covid narrative and the US’ support for zionism and apartheid in Israel.
Starmer, Nandy and Co. are probably delighted that in being the US’ Patsy on Palestine here, they get to show those uppity party members a thing or two about Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS)
“Hamas recognises de facto the 1967 borders of Israel and no longer demands the destruction of Israel in its covenant. This recognition would allow lawyers to argue in UK courts that Hamas has a legitimate right to self-defence against an illegal occupier of historic Palestinian lands.
The British governmentmemo says Hamas participated in terrorism by firing more than 4,000 rockets at Israel indiscriminately in May this year, killing civilians, including two children. It says that the use of incendiary balloons was a terrorist act that caused fires in communities in southern Israel, and that Hamas prepared youths in Gaza for terrorism by running training camps. Even if you accept these assertions at face value (and admittedly this is hard: Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in May killed 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, and the Israeli school curriculum does not refer to their neighbours as Palestinians, but only as Arabs, who are depicted as refugees, primitive farmers and terrorists), none of the claims in the document refer to any activity in the UK. It is significant that this is a Home Office document, not a Foreign Office one – and yet, the reasons for banning Hamas as a political movement occur outside the UK and in Palestine itself. There is no mention of antisemitism, or any activity by Hamas or its supporters in the UK that would justify such a ban.
Peter Ricketts, former diplomat and chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee under former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told the BBC’s World at One on Friday that this proscription of Hamas’s political wing will not change the UK’s foreign policy, and that Hamas has to be part of a political solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. What he left unsaid is that from Wednesday, the search for a political solution will be much more complicated because of this ban. ”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/britain-israel-palestine-hamas-terrorist-group-blow-peace-prospects
The ban serves no purpose beyond giving Israel a green light for further atrocities. This is not what politicians were elected for and the fact the memo was drafted by the home office shows Patel’s intervention on behalf of Israel again (it should have come from the foreign office) Starmer’s backing for this overt Zionism shows him to be even further to the right than Tony Blair, who at least negotiated with Hamas. There is no chance of peace without Hamas involvement and the Palestinian Authority has little traction with Palestinians these days because of corruption.
I am in the USA at the moment and have just been speaking to two guys from Iran, one is Jewish and the other Zoroastrian. When the subject of Israel was mentioned they both flew into a mini rage, their language was choice – “Those f’n Zionists, they think they can invade Palestine and take the land off the Palestinians. It’s not f’n Israel it’s Palestine, all of it”.
Needless to say, I agreed with every word.
Starmer and his creeps are 100% racists, with zero empathy for the brutal way Palestinians are treated by the Zionists.
When you force someone into a corner you don’t get to chose how they fight back but it amazes me how tolerant Hamas and the Palestinians have been towards the illegal occupation. Even now and despite the thousands of murders committed by the Zionists, the overwhelming majority of Palestinians would still be willing to share their country with the Zionists in a truly democratic single State.
Hi Jack, I stand with you!
Interfering in the Palestinian peoples land and politics is a total no no!
Another Tory smoke screen thrown up because there upto more corruption and lying!!
Starmer couldn’t run a pissup in a Brewery!!
If he loves Israel, fckin go and live there!!
Better still, join their government, because, you’ll never be PM of the Socialist Labour Party as long has he’s got an hole for an arse!!!
Blue Keef even further Right Wing Zionist TORY than Boris Fucking Johnson! By bulk that Party, Thatcher’s Neoliberal Neo-New-Labour Party TORIES are Far Right by nature!
Forgot to attach the link https://prc.org.uk/en/news/3213/un-votes-overwhelmingly-in-support-of-palestinian-self-determination
Thanks for the link nellykskelly
According to the Starmers Labour any sort of support for Palestinians, any defence of their Human Rights and any condemnation of the human rights abuses they have to endure at the hands of the Israeli government is antisemetic.
Starmers Labour has expelled and suspended many individuals and has proscribed whole groups of members on this basis destroying reputations and lives in the process.
Now if we follow Starmer’s logic the United Nations support for Palestinian self determination makes it antisemetic too.
Is Starmer now going to demand that the UK withdraws from the United Nations? Can we expect the CAA, the BOD etc to back him in this demand?
If I said this is a party of utter C,s I wouldn’t be wrong in any way whatsoever!
I am so ashamed I ever voted for these people all the 60 years of my life and Shame isn’t big enough a word.
If only we could send our French helicopter carrier to Palestine. That would teach Hamas, or something , you know kick Palestinians out of the party. Doesn’t JC support Hamas. He’s really got to go.
I wonder when being a member of the Labour Party will be proscribed. Oh wait…
Are there any previous examples of an opposition party being whipped to support the Government ?
The Arc of resistance Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah have the firepower to eliminate Israel, Hezbollah alone have in excess of 130,000 missiles, many with high precision which Nasrallah has promised can reach every part of Israel including Dimona and all ports, gas rigs, airports and power plants. The metropolitan area of Tel Aviv is only 52 sq kilometres and most industry and the majority of its population lives there. Iran too is self sufficient in precision missile production with many underground facilities and missile silos in the vast deserts and coasts along the Strait if Hormus. The US military bases would take a hammering in the event that a war is started against Hezbollah or Iran, witness the destruction at the Al Asad air base in Iraq last year, then just 15 precision missiles were used, 11 hit what they were supposed to hit and destroyed the air base, remember most US bases surrounding Iran, including the fifth fleet in Bahrain are but 1 or two minutes ballistic flying time from Iranian missiles, the US would lose them all. It’s not that the US or Israel do not have the means to defend themselves [in theory] it is that those defences would be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of missiles involved, including decoy missiles. Starmer and the US are backing the wrong horse in the Middle East, Israeli expansionism and Apartheid will be defeated, militarily . https://jinsa.org/watch-webinar-with-dr-uzi-rubin-on-the-evolution-of-irans-precision-guided-missile-threat/
“Legislative elections were held in the Palestinian territories on 25 January 2006 in order to elect the second Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The result was a victory for Hamas, contesting under the list name of Change and Reform, which received 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats, whilst the ruling Fatah received 41.43% of the vote and won just 45 seats.[1]”
Later, unfortunately, Israel/Fatah saw fit to come to the view that Fatah was really the government and so the official narrative became what it has since been.
In practice, the UK government, with the support of Starmer and his acolytes, will be declaring that a democratically elected government is a terrorist organisation.
Any chance we’ll see the Saudi ruling clique declared a terrorist organisation?
It’s possible that Starmer will remove the Whip from those who do not support the policy.
Is it a three- or two-line whip?
Wonder if keef’ll proscribe NSO?
Seriously, if Starmer’s whips do try to enforce a proscription here, even more fine party members will be cancelling their membership
The Irgun, Hagana and Lehi brought Israel into existence. Much of the Jewish terrorism was aimed at the British. It was the view of the Zionist leadership during the 1930s that Britain was a greater threat then the Nazis. Zionist terrorism seems to have been forgotten. The killing of Folke Bernadotte appears to be of little significance. Recall, however, the Jewish terrorism wasn’t in response to colonialism or oppression, it was the aggressive terrorism of an emerging settler-colonialism regime. The Palestinians can’t fire a catapult without being called terrorists. What’s going on here is the operation of the memory hole, the convenient forgetting or distortion of history. Israel is a State brought into existence by terror (read Thomas Suarez State of Terror ISBN 978-1-56656-068-90.) Starmer is an apologist for colonial oppression. He is beyond the pale. Nothing can be hoped for from him. He is our enemy and we must bring him and his team low.
Don’t know why anybody is surprised about Starmer whipping Labour MPs to vote to proscribe Hamas. After all as the old saying goes- he who pays the piper calls the tune and we all know which piper is paying on this one.
https://skwawkbox.org/2021/11/24/nickersen-turns-corbyn-defender-and-tells-other-right-wingers-not-to-share-defamatory-image/
Dunno why the comment section has gone west, but imagine if Corbyn had gone to town on that Bradley one and bankrupted him (as he ought to have done) ??
The rest of the haters would’ve shat themselves and nickerson’d be a fair bit better off just now instead of issuing caveats.
Am I the only one?
I would not vote for prescription but Hamas only gained a significant voice because of PLO corruption, they craftily worked with the poor and offered services and jobs.
They are not interested in politics, they want an Islamic State.
When they were firing petty rockets from Gaza causing a massive over-reaction by Right Wing Israel, a brave (too brave) group of young Palestinians publicly protested they should stop and at the slaughter of Palestinians (they were probably socialists)! And Hamas turned up and promptly shot them.
Hamas are Right Wing.
One Democratic State in Palestine, the Right To Return for Palestinians, and Peace to All in the Region.
See comment.
I actually met Arafat at an international adult education conference in Tunisia in the 1990’s and understood what Hamas was up to, and we delegates were invited to the home of one of the Fatah MPs which was a huge mansion.
And as a working class socialist young man from the inner city I knew something wasn’t quite right, as thousands of Palestinian refugees lived in squalor in camps.
I hoped for a great Palestinian genuine left wing democratic socialist leader.
But one democratic state for Palestine offers hope and should respect all religions.
Peace to All in the Region.
HSBC profits from Israeli apartheid. They invest over £800million in, and provide loans worth up to £19billion for companies arming Israel. This inludes approximately £100 million worth of shares invested in Caterpillar, who supply the Israeli army with armoured bulldozers, used to demolish Palestinians homes, build illegal Israeli settlements and Israel’s apartheid wall.
More information can be found on the Stop Arming Israel page.
I wish there was something I could do to help. It is utterly heartbreaking knowing Starmer has turned the Labour Party into a right wing, apartheid supporting, pseudo Tory, Party of hate. The people of Palestine deserve the backing of the LP, but with Starmer at the helm, it will never happen. I weep for the Palestinians
The old colonialists never learn and why would they in a archaic monarchies system of government.The British have no longer any position in the world to dictate political system….culture….or religion.The Arab nations are backed into a corner but that doesn’t mean they will not respond to the Israeli apparthied state.Great leaders have united against colonialism before and will again….Israeli government should have taken advantage of their power and support from the failing USA by negotiations for a permanent peace settlement….They haven’t and that will seal the fate for innocent and guilty Israeli citizens and destroy the concept of a Homeland for the Jewish people.
Nothing to do with ‘the British’. Most people in Britain were illiterate until relatively recently (C20) & its population only interested in local events.. Military were regularly conscripted or press ganged but always ignorant of foreign events. Today, in the global village’ we are still kept in ignorance as meetings are often clandestine & foreign policy none of our business. The 4the Estate operates a button mushroom policy which is frightening because Tory gov’t is increasing its nuclear arsenal by 40% as events in Middle East; Northern Europe & the South China Sea make their use more of a possibility. I realise that only a mad man would ever use nuclear weapons (MAD) but I believe these people do exist in gov’ts & USA has dropped nuclear bombs on civilian populations twice. Never again? Starmer’s actions are making the world more unsafe.
And Israel gets massive help from the USA with nearly $4b in military aid and $6b in debt guarantees per annum.
All because it suits US Imperial interests in the region (oil, arms sales, capitalist inward and outward investment) so the US is no honest broker and Biden is no progressive on international issues.
Jeremy Corbyn would have been an honest broker so from the perspective of the rich and powerful that’s why he had to go.
Justice for Palestinians & Peace to All in the Region.
Bazza – one of the reasons for the Conference in Tunisia which
Corbyn and some other MPs attended – was for the cause of
unity and coherence among Palestinian causes after the
“Arab Spring”. Corbyn attended the wreath laying ceremony
during the Conference which caused so much Controversy.
The Conference was called
“The International Conference on Monitoring the Palestinian
Political and Legal Situation in the Light of Israeli Aggression.”
Lord Sheikh – who also attended the Conference won a legal action
against the Daily Mail for defamation – concerning his attendance.
See
https://hamlins.com/lord-sheikh-v-associated-newspapers-limited/
I have tried to obtain a list of papers presented at the Conference
– but have not been successful so far,
Once again we can see clearly that Starmer and the PLP are bought and paid for by the apartheid State of Israel.
What a disgrace !
I wondered which way members voted in the debate and searched
for and found a link to the debate:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-11-24/debates/575EBB10-93BA-4D8C-8806-7504B5200AF2/PreventionAndSuppressionOfTerrorism
I was pleasantly surprised – I found the debate mostly thoughtful
and nuanced an d worth reading. This included a discuss.ion as to
what “support” for Hamas meant – and showed the Labour Party up
for what it was in expelling members for their “support” of Labour
proscribed groups when there was no definition of “support”
There was a long discussion too as to the implications of proscription
of the Palestinian people. .
I still did not find out which way members voted – there did not
seem to have been a division.