Labor has lost trust with Muslim voters over Gaza, says Shabana Mahmoud

Labour’s shadow attorney general has said there is a “loss of trust” among British Muslims in his party over its position on the Israel-Gaza war.

Shabana Mahmood, one of the party’s most senior Muslim MPs, urged Labor to “rebuild” its relationship with Muslim voters.

Labor has since revised its position calling for a “cessation” of fighting.

She added that it was “impossible to see images of dead children being dragged out of the rubble” and that “we don’t want the fighting to stop.”

“I wish we could just make a call and get a ceasefire right away,” she said.

“It’s not so much the question of just making a phone call. It’s how you actually deliver it.”

Israel declared war on Hamas after the group attacked communities in Israel, killing around 1,300 people.

Since then, waves of missiles launched by Israel into the Gaza Strip have killed more than 27,700 Palestinians and injured at least 65,000 others, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

The war between Israel and Hamas has caused some divisions within the Labor Party.

He later denied that he intended to support Israel cutting off supplies to the territory, saying instead that he supported Israel’s right to defend itself.

Mahmoud admitted that “it was not a good moment” for his party.

Tensions boiled over again when 56 Labor MPs defied the party’s orders and voted in favor of an SNP motion in the House of Commons explicitly calling for a ceasefire.

A November snapshot poll revealed that 41% of Muslim voters said they had negative feelings towards Labor since the conflict broke out.

Among Muslim voters, she said, “I think there’s a sense that trust has been lost and that we need to rebuild it.”

“We aim to be a party that can win votes from every part of our country and every community in our country. That’s always been the Labor Party’s way, and that’s still the Labor Party’s way.”

But “it’s not just British Muslims who are feeling very hurt by what’s going on; so are all British Jews.”

“We are all British citizens together,” she added.

“I think if we lose our humanity towards what all the people in that region are suffering, we lose something very important and precious. And once we lose it, I think it will be very difficult to get it back.” ”

She also criticized both Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for blocking a two-state solution.

“We must urgently find partners for peace, because a one-state solution will not keep Israelis safe,” she said.

“And it is outrageous to adopt the position that Israelis can have the right to self-determination, but Palestinians cannot.”