Muslim Labour politicians back sanctions against Israel
The Guardian
|June 06, 2025
Labour is facing calls for action from Muslim MPs, councillors and mayors who believe Keir Starmer has been mishandling the Gaza crisis.
In the Labour Muslim Network's first survey of the party's Muslim representatives, 77% said the government should end arms exports to Israel and 84% backed sanctions against the country's government.
Nearly all respondents - 97% - said they supported the immediate recognition of the state of Palestine. The results were based on an online questionnaire circulated by the LMN between 2 April and 16 May. There were 221 responses from 477 eligible MPs, councillors and mayors.
The findings lay bare the political difficulties the prime minister faces over the war between Israel and Hamas and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Starmer told the Commons on Wednesday that Gaza was facing "dark days" and he vowed to consider "further action". Last month the government suspended free trade talks with Israel and hit West Bank settlers with sanctions.
This story is from the June 06, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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