ANDY Burnham has declined to describe Israel’s brutal campaign against Palestinians as a genocide.
The Greater Manchester Mayor, whose sights are set on ousting Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, said he was not in a position to “judge things of that enormity”.
The genocide in Gaza has been described as such by a UN special committee and commission of inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars and a raft of human rights groups including Amnesty International, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Jerusalem-based B'Tselem.
Asked whether he would use the term genocide in an interview with The Guardian, Burnham said: “I can’t judge things of that enormity from where I am as mayor of Greater Manchester.”
He added: “But I do have concerns about the disproportionate nature of what has happened in terms of the destruction, and there has to be a full process of investigation and accountability.”
Elsewhere, Burnham – who voted to follow the US into the illegal invasion of Iraq while an MP – backed Starmer’s approach towards Donald Trump.
He said: “Normally you would want a good relationship with the US, but if you can’t agree with them, then say that as well. That’s the only way I think to deal with him.
“Obviously, the relationship is important to the UK, but not to the point where we just go along with anything they say. We’ve got in trouble in the past when that happens, so no, I think the approach that Keir has taken is the right one.”
