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The SNP has been accused of giving “false hope” to campaigners demanding a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
MPs will this week vote on a motion put down by the party demanding an “immediate” end to the violence which has led to tens of thousands of civilian deaths in Palestine.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said it was an opportunity for the House of Commons to send a unified message on the conflict.
But with Tory MPs set to vote against it, the motion will not pass.
Labour leader Keir Starmer – who has so far stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire – is under intense pressure to back the SNP motion.
Speaking yesterday, he said the fighting “must stop now” and that Israeli hostages still being held in Palestine must be released.
The last time the issue was voted on in the Commons, Starmer suffered the biggest rebellion of his leadership when 56 Labour MPs voted with the SNP.
But a Labour source told HuffPost UK: “There’s a great deal of disbelief that the SNP seems to be giving false hope to people who want to see an immediate ceasefire because, even if all opposition MPs support their motion, it will be heavily defeated because the government will vote against it.
“If the purpose of the SNP motion is to send a message out from parliament about a ceasefire, and that is a laudable aim as we all want the fighting to stop and stop now, then surely the government defeating their motion sends the opposite message that Westminster does not support a ceasefire.
“It’s just politicisation by the SNP of one of the most important and tragic foreign policy issues of our time.”
Flynn has said he is willing to hold talks with Starmer ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
He said: “In advance of that meeting, it is only right to be crystal clear that I firmly believe that any motion must maintain the clarity of pressing for an immediate ceasefire.
“My reasoning for that is very simple. That clear statement, and clear intent, is the only message that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government will understand. It is the best pressure we can now apply.
“By finally joining the vast majority of the international community in pressing for that ceasefire, we can instigate a fresh diplomatic effort to stop the slaughter of even more innocent civilians and children.”
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