Labour and the Conservatives agree on Israel-Hamas war for now – but how long can consensus hold?

Since the horrific attacks last weekend we’ve heard the same headline message from both the government and Labour; that the UK stands with Israel, and it has the right to fight back.

Last night’s statements from the two leaders underscored the point. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “To the people of Israel, I say Britain is with you.

“What took place was an act of pure evil and Israel has every right to defend itself.”

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Sir Keir Starmer was in agreement: “Israel has the right, indeed the duty, to defend herself and rescue these hostages.”

The prime minister, unlike Sir Keir, didn’t even mention the situation in Gaza in his statement.

But on Sunday, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly clearly understood he needed to say more about the Palestinian civilians.

There was no criticism of the Israeli response – his comments were very much couched in terms of “friends talking honestly to friends”- but Mr Cleverly repeatedly stressed the UK’s commitment to international law and called for restraint and discipline from the Israeli armed forces.

He argued that he and the government share the passion of those demonstrating in London for a better life for the Palestinian people, but made the point that it is in Israel’s interest to avoid civilian casualties, as he believes Hamas’s strategy is to escalate conflict in the area into a wider war between the Muslim world and everyone else.

And while the SNP’s Humza Yousaf has called for a ceasefire in Gaza in order to evacuate civilians and provide humanitarian assistance, both Labour and the Tories are clear in their assurance of Israel’s right to take on Hamas in Gaza.

While Mr Cleverly said the UK would never give carte blanche to any nation, he seemed to be reassured by the “regular commitments” he had received from the Israeli leadership that their operations would be in accordance with international law.

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Neither the foreign secretary nor his Labour counterpart questioned Israel’s right to order the evacuation of 1.1 million people from northern Gaza, despite concern from the UN that this could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and claims that “forced displacement” would be a breach of the Geneva Convention.

In a way what was most striking about this morning’s round of interviews was the close and almost unprecedented alignment of two men normally at opposite sides of the political spectrum.

The pair even hugged when they met outside the Sky studio this morning.

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David Lammy refused to take up Trevor Phillips’ invitation to suggest that the UK government had been slow in terms of urging restraint on the Israelis, compared to the US and France, insisting he didn’t want to be critical of James Cleverly or depart from the cross-party consensus.

While Labour are under pressure from some in the party to speak up more on behalf of Palestinian civilians, Sir Keir Starmer is determined that no one should say anything that could jeopardise his commitment to “tear out antisemitism” from the party – his pledge on taking over the leadership from Jeremy Corbyn.

Any UK politicians commenting on the situation must strike a fine balance.

For now, both Labour and the Conservatives are in agreement about what that line is, but the question as the conflict in Gaza continues, is how long that position can hold.