UK Labor leader Starmer calls for lasting ceasefire between Israel, Hamas

British Labor leader Keir Starmer said on Sunday there should be a lasting cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, setting out his stance before parliament is expected to debate a conflict that has caused division in the opposition party. With Labor well ahead in the polls before an election later this year, Starmer is keen to present a united front to voters, but the conflict in Gaza has tested that unity. Nearly a third of his lawmakers defied him last year to back calls for an immediate cease-fire and the party had to withdraw support for a candidate over his comments about Israel earlier this month. This week, the Scottish National Party is expected to bring a motion to parliament to call for an immediate cease-fire - something Starmer's foreign policy chief David Lammy said the party would examine and then come to a decision on. Addressing the Scottish Labor conference, Starmer said: "What we all want to see ... (is) an end to the fighting not just now, not just for a pause, but permanently. A cease-fire that lasts ... that is what must happen now." He added that any cease-fire could not be one-sided.(Reuters) 