Middle East Eye reports that Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester Labour elected mayor, has criticised Keir Starmer for his uncritical backing of Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
The website quotes a letter from Soulsby to the Labour leader:
"The impression that has been given is that this condemnation of recent events extends to approving uncritically the Israeli government's response and of ignoring the decades of injustice and the oppression of Palestinians and the violations of their human rights," Soulsby wrote.
The mayor also said that he had visited the occupied Palestinian territories and believed that Israeli settlement activity, as well as Israel's treatment of Palestinians, had created a "breeding ground for despair and terrorism".
Soulsby said that he had spoken to Labour councillors and members who shared his concerns about Starmer's comments on the conflict.
This evening Taj Ali, the industrial correspondent of Tribune magazine, has tweeted that seven Leicester Labour councillors have
"unequivocally" distanced themselves from remarks made by @Keir_Starmer, endorsing the collective punishment of Palestinians. They have called on the Labour Party leader to apologise for his remarks.
He lists the seven as Hanif Aqbany, Misbah Batool, Mohammed Dawood, Mustafa Malik, Raffiq Mohammed, Yasmin Surti and Syed Zaman,
And Darshna Soni, communities editor of Channel 4 News, has tweeted that:
Labour councillors in Leicester warning that the Party is in danger of losing control of the city for the first time in 16 years, such is the strength of feeling over #IsraelGazaConflict. Keir Starmer’s HoC speech about need for humanitarian access seen as too late for some.
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