FLOUNDERING Sir Keir Starmer declared that war is peace today in an Orwellian speech trying to retrieve Labour’s position on the Gaza crisis.

Defying mounting opposition within the party, the Labour leader asserted that a ceasefire in Gaza would encourage further violence and that only a “humanitarian pause” could be considered.

But his pose for peace was further undermined by the suspension of MP Andy McDonald from the Labour whip in the Commons.

Mr McDonald’s offence was to have told a ceasefire rally at the weekend that “we won’t rest until we have justice, until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea can live in peaceful liberty.”

A Labour spokesperson called the remarks “deeply offensive” but the Labour Muslim Network attacked the suspension as “obscene.”

Mr McDonald said that his words “should not be construed in any other way than as a heartfelt plea for an end to the killings in Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and for all the peoples in the region to live in freedom without the threat of violence.”

Attempting to justify his anti-ceasefire stance, despite the vast loss of Palestinian life, Sir Keir told a gathering at the elite Chatham House foreign policy think tank: “A ceasefire always freezes any conflict in the state where it currently lies.

“And as we speak, that would leave Hamas with the infrastructure and the capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on October 7.

“Hamas would be emboldened and start preparing for future violence immediately.”

The most he would advocate was a “humanitarian pause” to allow more aid into Gaza. 

Sir Keir also claimed, untruthfully, that his position had “always been that Israel must submit to the rules of international law. The right to self-defence is fundamental but it is not a blank cheque.

“The supply of basic utilities like water, medicines, electricity and yes, fuel to civilians in Gaza cannot be blocked by Israel,” he said, although he advocated just that until overwhelmed by the inner-party backlash that has seen scores of councillors quit the party and front-bench discipline collapse.

Nearly a third of Labour MPs have now publicly backed a ceasefire in Gaza.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign called the idea of a pause “a wholly inadequate response” to the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, where over 8,000 have already died in the latest Israeli attack.

PSC director Ben Jamal said Sir Keir’s “words and actions render him complicit in Israel’s ongoing commission of war crimes.

“Those who believe in the primacy of international law and respect for all civilian life should condemn his remarks and demand a reversal of the Labour Party position.”

A Momentum spokesperson argued that “Keir Starmer hasn’t shifted one inch: his speech today still backs Israel’s war on Gaza and opposes the ceasefire demanded by everyone from the UN to Save the Children.

“Starmer’s support for more war, more bombing and more Palestinian deaths is wholly out of touch with his own party and the public at large, who overwhelmingly back an immediate ceasefire.”

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Keir Starmer’s stance lacks moral courage and leadership.

“A humanitarian pause will only temporarily stop the killing of children. We need a ceasefire now.”

The suspension of Mr McDonald has deepened the widening rift between Sir Keir and the Muslim community.

The Labour Muslim Network said: “The fundamental right to live in peace, with liberty and self-determination, is one which should be applied to all peoples.

“The only conclusion that can be drawn is that those who made this decision do not see Palestinian and Muslim life as deserving of this fundamental principle.”