Labour has been urged to clarify its position on collective punishment in the context of Israel’s response to the 7 October Hamas massacre of Israeli citizens, in a letter to Keir Starmer signed by 39 academics.
The signatories, including experts in international law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and related disciplines say that comments by Starmer, Emily Thornberry and David Lammy have provided tacit approval of the war crime of collective punishment.
Starmer attracted criticism from the Labour Muslim Network and the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian authorities, among others, when, asked in an interview with LBC about Israel cutting off water and electricity, he said “Israel does have that right” while adding that “obviously everything should be done within international law”. Several Muslim Labour councillors have resigned in response to Starmer’s comments.
On Sunday, the Labour leader issued a statement calling on on “all parties to act in line with international law, including allowing humanitarian access of food, water, electricity and medicines to Gaza”. But the letter says the latter statement “does nothing to rescind your tacit approval of Israel’s collective punishment of the population of Gaza”.
It states:
The right to self-defence is not unqualified, it is bound by longstanding laws that form one of the pillars of a rules-based international order. International humanitarian law, including the fourth Geneva...
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