Indeed, as the UK’s Labour Party prepares for its yearly conference in Liverpool, there is little to cheer about regarding foreign policy. Keir Starmer’s government, which has been in power for more than two months, has demonstrated that, like the Tories, Labour remains the party that supports Israel’s genocidal war in Palestine. 

 Starmer’s election campaign was based on the slogan of “change.” However, concerning the issue of Israel, the Labour Party continues to perform as it did before. Labour has never dem(plan) started anything but support for Israel, irrespective of the war crimes committed by the country in Gaza and the occupied territories. For those who expected a different approach from Starmer, his words from 2021 and his description of the same as a “Labour tradition” have not sounded any better. 

 Probably the most blatant case in recent years is Labour’s refusal to vote against a UN resolution calling for Israel to quit the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip within a year. This vote demonstrated why Labour is so keen to ignore this country’s ongoing breach of international law while at the same time pretending to respect that law. 

 While it is about some gestures that might be interpreted as being critical of Israel, such as suspending export licenses for arms and ammunition, the UK continue to support Israel militarily. A recent action by Foreign Secretary David Lammy to suspend 30 of the total 350 arms licences was termed a feeble stunt. And Lammy himself said that it would not significantly change Israel’s capability to wage war. 

 Worse still, the UK is still providing critical components for the F-35 fighter jets, with one used in the July attack that led to the killing of 90 Palestinians in Gaza. Supplying arms to other factions is not the only way that the British government has been actively participating in the continued genocide; the UK military has been accused of providing intelligence assistance to the Israeli forces. 

 Labour’s inability to avoid these patterns, especially in regard to the military support given through the RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, is evidence of Britain’s continuity in arming Israel. Greece has been indirectly supporting the rebels’ military operations and assisting Iran in flying arms to them. The UK cannot absolve itself of responsibility in this issue, and Labour has not wanted to distance itself from this complicity. 

 Far more disturbing is how Labour still goes on to regard Israel as a ‘partner’ and democracy. As the evidence of Israeli war crimes continues to emerge, Starmer’s government is negotiating a free trade deal with Israel, something that the Tories started. TUC has condemned such a decision by stating that it was based on Israeli’s continuing breach of conventional law. 

 Labour’s inaction speaks volumes. Yet, the Palestine solidarity movement has seldom seen such participation, and Labour could not care less, going about conducting trade negotiations, providing military assistance and undertaking diplomatic niceties with an unfriendly and more and more dictatorial Israel. Since Labour came to power, more than 3,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and Starmer’s government provides mere lip service to Palestinians. 

 While the Labour Party is celebrating its conference as the Palestine solidarity movement, it is essential not to ignore the role performed by this party in genocide. The celebratory mood in Liverpool must be disrupted with a clear message. There can be no ‘business as usual and genocides in Palestine, and Labour must be made to answer for its continuation of the policies of a state that abets war crimes.