A phased ceasefire deal began in Gaza on Sunday, January 19, 2025. UK public support for Gaza peace is still ongoing. Moreover, the UK people whish to make a more significant change for the people of Gaza.
Different groups of people in the UK, including the Muslim population, academics, young people, and others, are still holding demonstrations. They have published notices to show their support of Gaza peace. Meanwhile, Brits have criticized their government for its reaction and lack of support for the Gaza peace. They believe that if Labor stopped supporting Israel and stopped sending weapons to Israel, people in Gaza would have a better life, and there would be an end to the war.
Gaza Ceasefire: UK public support for Gaza peace
On Sunday, January 19, 2025, a phased ceasefire deal began in Gaza. Phase one of the ceasefire deal has already started and will last six weeks. It is supposed to involve the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees and prisoners.UK public support for Gaza peace will put more significant pressure on the continued ceasefire.
Displaced Palestinians in Gaza have started returning to their hometowns. They find their homes and neighborhoods reduced to rubble, especially in northern Gaza. Delivering urgently needed essential services and humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza must be rapidly ensured. The entry of human rights investigators and international journalists must follow it.
Britain’s Aid for Israel’s ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ of Palestine
Britain abandoned its League of Nations-approved mandate for Palestine. However, Britain has continued to neglect its obligations, including the killings of Palestinians, destroying their homes, and expulsions from their land.
Despite all petitions, the Labour Party has widened its cooperation with Israel in health, technology, and military and security policies. For instance, UK-made F-35 parts are sent directly to Israel and other partner countries for assembly. It has been significant in preserving Israeli jets for combat by contributing to the global pool of spare parts.
UK public support for Gaza peace: Green, White, and Black Palestine Flags
EPA Crowd of protesters gather with green, white, and black Palestine flags calling for peace and stopping arming Israel. Several thousand Pro-Palestinian supporters have taken part in a demonstration in central London. The UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign has said that their pro-Gaza march in London will go ahead as Israel continues its attacks despite a ceasefire deal.
Pro-Palestinian supporters gather outside the Houses of Parliament to protest against Israel’s escalating attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system and targeting Palestinian healthcare workers in London, United Kingdom, on January 6, 2025.
UK Public Support for Gaza Peace: A Surge in Humanitarian Aid to Gaza
On Thursday, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign expressed its “immense relief” at the long-anticipated agreement after months of failed attempts. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) confirmed that its upcoming protest against the Gaza war would proceed. This was despite the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was due to take effect soon. UK public support for Gaza peace will remain firmly supported by the PSC.
The deal introduces a six-week initial ceasefire agreement. It includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces and a hostage exchange plan to release both Israeli captives and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. It also promises to enable a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza, which was utterly devastated by horrific Israeli attacks.
International Pressure will Continue.
In a statement, the PSC called for an end to Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory. PSC emphasized that such a shift is only possible through sustained international pressure. The group stated, “For more than 15 months, alongside millions around the world, we have demanded a ceasefire and ending Israel’s atrocities in Gaza”.
“We must now redouble our efforts to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle. We must isolate and weaken the apartheid regime through ending the British state and corporate complicity that upholds and enables it.” The latest protest, planned for Saturday, will take place in London. Other groups, such as the Stop the War Coalition, Friends of al-Aqsa, and the Muslim Association of Britain, will support it.
Lost Support of the Muslim Population of the UK
Labor must try hard to retain Muslims’ vote and support. A senior party figure has said that a poll showed that Muslim voters have lost their trust in the party due to its reaction to the war in Gaza. British Muslims’ identification with Labour as their natural choice has fallen by 49 percentage points, from 72% in 2021 to 29% this year.
Starmer’s net favourability was worse in north-west England, at -18%. This region features constituencies with a sizeable Muslim voter base, including Blackburn, Manchester (Gorton, Withington, and Central), and Preston.
A Labour frontbencher told the Guardian: “Many voters I’ve spoken to in the area are furious with Starmer’s muddling position over his recognition of Palestine’s statehood. It hasn’t gone down well. Fortunately for Labour the anger isn’t quite at the peak of what it was in November, but ultimately people are still sore, so Labour has its work cut out for them.”
A Labour frontbencher told the Guardian that many voters are furious with Starmer’s muddling position over his recognition of Palestine’s statehood. It hasn’t gone down well. Luckily for Labour, the anger isn’t quite at the peak of what it was in November. However, people are still sore.
Ultimately, people are still sore, so Labour has its work cut out for them.
Brits, along with Muslims, Support Gaza
And it is not just Muslims in the UK. In a YouGov poll of overall public sentiments, a third of the participants said the UK government should oppose Israel’s war. Another quarter of those who participated called for a limited ceasefire. UK Public Support for Gaza Peace is even growing.
“I have seen the conversations and perceptions regarding this issue shift substantially in favor of Palestine,” Arooj, a schoolteacher, told Al Jazeera. Arooj said she was not comfortable sharing her full name at a time when many pro-Palestinian protesters have been targeted at their workplaces. But it is on the streets that Arooj sees the future of pro-Palestinian solidarity in the UK in the form of young people, including schoolchildren. They have marched against the war. Polling shows that younger people in the UK lean significantly toward Palestine.
UK Academics Support Gaza Peace
UK public support for Gaza peace also includes the academics. There is a warning that return to “any semblance of normality” will take “at least 20 years”. Academics in the UK have called for rebuilding higher education in Gaza following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“This ceasefire deal does not give anybody a sense of when the displaced can return home, when the displaced might have access to regular healthy food and heat sources, or when some of them may be able to travel to continue to pursue education and career development,” Parr said. “Once there is the peace, we stand ready to do whatever we can to contribute to rebuilding higher education in Gaza,” Wordsworth said.
