Mr Lammy said Labour was “mirroring the language” of the UN and the remaining members of the Five Eyes alliance – made up of the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada’s intelligence services.
On Tuesday, Labour tabled an amendment which for the first time uses the phrase “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, to the SNP’s ceasefire motion.
It means that in practical effect Labour’s position is now much closer to the SNP’s – although Labour’s amendment emphasises more than the SNP’s the role of Hamas as well as Israel in bringing about a lasting ceasefire.
A party spokesperson said: “Our amendment calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, in line with our allies.
“We need the hostages released and returned. We need the fighting to stop now. We need a massive humanitarian aid programme for Gaza. And any military action in Rafah cannot go ahead.
“We want the fighting to stop now. We also have to be clear on how we prevent the violence starting up again. There will be no lasting peace without a diplomatic process that delivers a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state.”
Changing position
Israel declared war on Hamas after the group led an attack on communities inside Israel, killing around 1,200 people.
Since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed and 68,000 injured as Israel launched missiles and ground operations into the Gaza Strip in response.
Until now the Labour Party’s leadership has avoided using the phrase “immediate ceasefire”, which led to a clear split in the party in November when 56 of Labour’s 198 MPs backed an SNP motion.
Sir Keir had instead called for a “humanitarian pause” and an end of fighting “as soon as possible”.
Whether or not those positions are substantively different, the crucial political fact is that this is designed to be seen as a slight hardening of Labour’s position towards Israel.
This week, Sir Keir has come under increasing pressure after the Scottish Labour party passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Labour’s position on Gaza has also come under scrutiny in the upcoming Rochdale by-election, where the party dropped its parliamentary candidate over antisemitic comments he apparently made during a discussion about the conflict.
The SNP motion calls for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel” as the “only way to stop the slaughter of innocent civilians”.
It also “condemns” any military assault on the Gazan city of Rafah. Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has warned the manoeuvre will be launched unless Hamas frees all its hostages by 10 March. The date marks the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.
If passed, the SNP’s opposition day motion is not binding on the government. Instead, they typically express opposition MPs’ position on a particular issue.
The big unanswered question remains how Labour would vote on the SNP motion. The two parties’ positions on how Israel should act now appear to be very similar, though there are undoubted differences in emphasis.
Whether any of this Westminster semantics has any resonance whatsoever in the Middle East is a whole separate question.
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron has said the government is “calling for a stop to the fighting right now, we think that what we need is a pause in the fighting and the hostages to come out and aid to go in.”
Speaking during a visit to the Falkland Islands, Lord Cameron said: “What we need to do is turn that pause into a permanent, sustainable ceasefire.”
