LONDON – The British Labour Party is living these days on a hot plate with its leader Keir Starmer in confrontation with his party's Muslim members and supporters of the Palestinian cause, because of Starmer's unconditional support for Israel, and even went to the point of justifying the prohibition of water, electricity and fuel for the residents of Gaza, before retracting these statements.
The leader of this opposition party continued to support Israel in all official forums and within the parliament, and on his path also went members of the shadow government, but the point that overflowed the cup is a memorandum issued by the party's leadership warning its members against participating in the vigils and marches in support of Palestine, which took place in more than one British city.
A number of Labour Party elected, whether Muslim or otherwise, did not understand all these positions, especially since they are accustomed to the Labour Party adopting more balanced positions towards the Palestinian cause and condemning Israeli violations against Palestinians.
But a lot seems to have changed since the departure of former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was touted as one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinian cause in the West, and the arrival of Starmer, who adopted a completely different approach of unequivocal support for Israel.
Many demonstrations took place in London and some British cities in solidarity with the Palestinians (Reuters)
Bulk resignations
Many of Latest's Muslim representatives could not stand the statements of their party leader, his insistence on full support for Israel in what he says was "self-defense," and many of them tried to send a message of dissatisfaction to the party's leadership but did not seem to have been heard.
Last Saturday's rally in support of Palestine in London was an opportunity after which a number of elected officials announced their resignation from their posts, including Muslim-majority councils in London and abroad.
Capital Sheikh, representing London's Finsbury Park Council, Camripage Council's Mered Hayley, Gloucester Council's Osman Bhimia, and Manchester City Council's Amna Abdul Latif, and four others, all from important local councils, resigned from the party.
According to sources from within the party spoke to Al Jazeera Net, the resignations will not stop there, but there are dozens of elected who will announce their resignation from the Labor Party in the coming days, after a stormy meeting this week, Starmer gathered a number of objectors to his position and full support for Israel.
The same sources said that the meeting did not reach a resolution of differences, which increased the anger of the Muslim bloc and sympathetic to Palestine, which prompted dozens of them to consider submitting the resignation, and currently there are more than 20 elected officials will announce the departure of the party.
Starmer is trying to absorb this anger by withdrawing the memo warning against pro-Palestine demonstrations, declaring that "these are horrific and difficult times for everyone, Israelis and Palestinians, Arabs and Jews" and asserting "Israel's right to self-defense in line with international law, and the need for humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip."
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses a pro-Gaza rally in Britain (social media)
Important block
Starmer is facing great pressure to stop the bleeding of resignations among his party's Muslims, with the approach of next year's general election, which Stramer risks entering stripped of two important cards, the first is his final loss to Corbyn's supporters or the so-called "Corbynist current" and the second important card is the Muslim bloc, which played an important role in giving Labour seats during the last election.
According to a recent study issued by the Muslim Council of Britain on the electoral attendance of Muslims, Muslim voters - and their number of two million - are able to resolve 31 parliamentary seats in various regions, a number that parties care about and pay attention to, especially since the study showed that the Muslim vote will make the difference in a number of major constituencies in London.
According to the Islamic Statistics Institution, 78% of Muslims in Britain voted for Labour during the last general election in 2019, but the same institution said that support for the party among British Muslims fell to only 38%, due to Starmer's policies.
In the years following the invasion of Iraq, their turnout fell below 40%, before rising to more than 65% during the 2019 elections, a figure that will rise during the upcoming elections, according to the Islamic Foundation for Engagement and Development (MAND).