THE SNP have said they intend to propose a new motion and “move the Gaza ceasefire debate forward” following scenes of chaos at Westminster over the issue.
It comes after Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle allowed a Labour amendment to the SNP Opposition Day motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” which prevented the SNP motion from being voted on.
The move follows the debate last Wednesday, which broke with years of convention, sparked a major row and led to an apology from Hoyle.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn (below) said that he intends to accept the Speaker’s offer to allow a vote on a fresh SNP ceasefire motion, and that the motion will set out “concrete steps the UK Government can take to achieve an immediate ceasefire”.
The SNP have confirmed they will publish the details of the motion, with “concrete actions”, following discussions with the Speaker on the specific terms of a debate and vote.
READ MORE: Mhairi Black - Speaker's actions should trigger alarm bells for all of us
Among the suggestions put forward will be those the UK can take as part of the UN Security Council.
The UK has previously abstained from voting on ceasefire resolutions in the Security Council, including last Tuesday, when the US vetoed a resolution put forward by Algeria calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
Commenting, Flynn said: "After a shameful week of Westminster chaos, the SNP will move the debate forward and press the UK Parliament to back concrete actions to secure an immediate ceasefire.
"More than 29,000 Palestinian children, women and men have been killed, huge swathes of Gaza have been obliterated, and the population faces a worsening humanitarian crisis.
“The SNP will seek to refocus the discussion away from the Westminster circus and onto what really matters - doing everything we can to actually secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.”
Flynn added that some progress had been made despite “the appalling spectacle at Westminster”.
READ MORE: Inside the Speaker Gaza ceasefire row with SNP chief whip Owen Thompson
“Public and SNP pressure has forced the next prime minister - Sir Keir Starmer - into a U-turn - so now we need to work together to force the UK Government to change its position too,” he said.
"The SNP's calls for the UK to back an immediate ceasefire have never just been about the symbolism of having a strong and clear position against the hostilities - they have always been about forcing the UK Government to use every lever it has to achieve an immediate ceasefire.”
He called on the UK to “finally join with the UN, and the majority of the international community, in backing an immediate ceasefire”.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Flynn said the UK must not be a "spectator on the sidelines”, and that it must take "concrete steps" to secure a ceasefire “using the range of influence at its disposal”.
He continued: "The UK has a moral duty to act - to save lives, prevent the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, secure the release of the hostages, and do everything we can to make a peaceful two-state solution a reality rather than an increasingly distant pipedream."
It comes amid reports that Israel is planning a military offensive in Rafah, the southernmost town in Gaza, where more than half of the territory's population of 2.3 million people are estimated to be sheltering.
An Israeli minister also confirmed that Israel plans to build thousands of new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank.
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