How The Israel-Hamas War Became The Biggest Test Yet Of Keir Starmer's Leadership

The conflict has led to deep splits within Labour.“How can the Labour Party manage to take a crisis in the Middle East and make it about itself,” grumbled one senior member of the shadow cabinet this week.It’s a fair question. As innocent civilians continue to die on a daily basis in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Labour has been engulfed by its own internal conflict.After 12 months in which Keir Starmer has guided his party to a 20-point lead over the Tories and become viewed by many as the prime minister-in-waiting, he faces the biggest test of his leadership since he succeeded Jeremy Corbyn in the wake of the 2019 election.His troubles started two weeks ago when, during an interview on LBC, he appeared to give his support to Israel cutting off water, fuel and food supplies to Gaza.By the time his office belatedly tried to explain that he had in fact been supporting Israel’s general right to defend itself, the damage had already been done.Muslim voters around the country w