Zach Polansky, deputy leader of the Green Party, addresses hundreds of members of the Jewish community at a march to call for a ceasefire in Gaza (Getty)

London -

The position on the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has redrawn the map of alignment within the ranks of the British political class, in an election year in which most positions cannot be read only in terms of vote returns, but also with a clear political and ideological division regarding dealing with the Palestinian issue.

At a time when the British government - led by the Conservative Party - identifies with Israeli policies and supports the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip, the Green Party in Britain stands out as one of the most critical voices of the behavior of decision-makers in London.

In a statement, the Green Party called on the British government to adopt a tougher approach with Israel, to push it to respond to the call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and demanded preventing the supply of arms exports to Tel Aviv, and prosecuting the perpetrators of war crimes among Israeli leaders who hold British citizenship, in addition to imposing A boycott on Israel prevents its delegations from participating in sporting and artistic events.

The party warned of what it described as "the British government's collusion with an Israeli government that does not seem to heed international warnings about the catastrophic repercussions of any potential military operation in Rafah," calling on the international community to intervene to stop the ongoing killing operations against civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The Green Party is considered the fourth political force in the United Kingdom (Getty)

Rebellion against tradition

The Green Party in Britain (also known as the Green Party in England and Wales) adopts a left-wing ideology that opposes the traditional policies of British political parties, and is biased towards issues of social justice, minority rights, and environmental protection policies. Its rise in the British political arena coincided with what was described as the "Green Wave" in Europe. .

That period witnessed the emergence of Green parties and the transformation of their political work from “pressure groups” against capitalist policies to political parties competing with electoral programs for seats in European parliaments, as the Green Party in Britain is considered the fourth political force in the country, and is looking forward to achieving a large percentage of representation during the upcoming upcoming parliamentary elections. This year.

While the Greens’ opponents have always described their political discourse as “utopian,” which is inconsistent with the immediate challenges facing the country, the calculations of whether to win or lose voters’ votes may not be absent from the party’s agenda this time, and its endeavor to enhance its chances in the upcoming elections, at a time when it is escalating. Fears in the immediate European neighborhood that the populist right will gain a comfortable majority in the European Parliament elections expected in the middle of this year.

These elections are the first of their kind after Britain's exit from the European Union, which poses a new challenge for the center-left parties and the Green parties, which are trying to impose their agendas on the continent's leaders, and their existence appears to be threatened by the expected strong rise of the populist right.

War paper

Although internal challenges are the thread regulating the electoral programs of the various British political parties, most notably the country’s entry into a state of economic contraction and the health sector crisis, the repercussions of the war on Gaza, and the state of severe political polarization that the British position on the Israeli military operation has provoked on the people of the Gaza Strip, are expected to It occupies a high position on the list of British voters’ priorities.

After the country witnessed massive demonstrations over the past four months demanding an end to the war on the Gaza Strip, amid a high percentage of Britons supporting their country’s adoption of a position calling for an immediate ceasefire, the Green Party had demanded an end to targeting civilians since the start of the military campaign, considering that the political vacuum and the absence of a solution that satisfies The legitimate rights of the Palestinian people have led to the growth of hate speech and the widening of the cycle of violence and conflict in the region.

Over the past months, the party has continued to adopt a critical discourse of the role played by the British government in this conflict, and its unconditional support for Israeli military operations against what it describes as the “horrific massacre” against the people of the Gaza Strip.

Criticism of the Labor Party

However, the circle of sharp criticism directed by the Green Party towards the government also extended to include the Labor Party, one of the most prominent opposition parties, whose political literature intersects with the leftist orientation of the Green parties, as the Greens believe that Labor leader Keir Starmer’s reluctance to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is equivalent to political behavior. Adopted by the British government that supports Israel.

On the other hand, the leader of the Labor Party, whose positions in support of the continuation of the war against the Gaza Strip have deepened the rifts in the ranks of his party’s cadres and electoral base, is trying to remedy his party’s internal crisis, by formulating a position distinct from the orientation of his political opponent, the Conservative Party, but without provoking the anger of the right and Israel’s supporters.

Starmer said - during a speech to his party’s supporters in Scotland - that “a permanent ceasefire in Gaza must happen now,” as the British House of Commons prepares on Wednesday to vote for the second time on a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza proposed by the party. Scottish National Party, it is feared that the party will subsequently enter another phase of divisions and sharp debates.

Source: Al Jazeera