By facing down Labour's Israel rebels, Keir Starmer showed his true mettle

Keir Starmer passed a major test last night. 

Facing down the misplaced dissent of a chunk of his own MPs showed that he has the mettle to lead.

Nobody wants the human suffering we have seen in Gaza. But those calling for a ceasefire forget the fact that Hamas broke the last ceasefire with its attack on 7 October.

They did so with unbearable cruelty, slaughtering 1,200 men, women and children. They beheaded babies. They tied children together and set them on fire.

They put a baby in an oven and raped its mother, while forcing her to listen to her screaming child being cooked alive.

And they took around 240 people hostage, including babies and children, whose fates remain unknown.

Far from being ashamed of this, Hamas filmed the massacre for the world to see. And they celebrated it, parading hostages and dead Israelis in the streets as trophies.

Of course, in responding, Israel must take every possible measure to limit civilian casualties. But throughout, Hamas has used Gazan civilians as human shields, and Palestinian schools, mosques and hospitals to hide its weapons and its terror tunnel network.

Even as MPs went to vote last night, the Israeli army was sharing pictures of assault rifles, grenades and other military equipment found in the MRI centre in Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital. 

Humanitarian pauses are one thing. But Hamas would use any ceasefire to re-arm and bring more rounds of misery and death to Israelis and Palestinians. They say as much in TV interviews. The way to end this is to defeat Hamas.

Last night, the vast majority of parliamentarians, including around three-quarters of Labour MPs, supported Israel’s right to defend itself.

Of the minority who voted with the SNP, some will have had noble intentions. But they have made a grave error.

Because this is not just about Israel.

The British public need to know that if our people were to come under attack, our MPs would protect us and ensure that the threat is defeated. Some MPs were not equal to that challenge last night.

Keir was right to insist that anybody prepared to defy the whip and let Hamas regroup could not remain a shadow minister.

This marks a clear difference from previous Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who called Hamas terrorists his "friends", and let antisemitism run rampant. Corbyn was quick to back the UK’s enemies over our allies. The public gave him a damning verdict at the 2019 election.

Keir Starmer deserves credit for rebuilding Labour as a credible force. Under Keir’s leadership, Labour is once again an inclusive and patriotic party that will go out to bat for this country. It will stand by our armed forces if ever the need arises.

Ultimately, bringing a permanent end to the war will require Israelis to have security, and for Palestinians to have the hope of a better future in a state of their own.

The extremists of Hamas stand in the way of all this. They must be defeated for Palestinians and Israelis to finally progress and prosper.

The last days won’t have been easy, but Keir has called this one right.

Phil Rosenberg is the former Director of Public Affairs at the Board of Deputies of British Jews and a former Labour local councillor.