DAVID Cameron must resign as Foreign Secretary for making “excuses for the crimes of collective punishment and genocide”, the Scottish Greens have said after the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Scottish-born lawyer Karim Khan said that he believes Netanyahu, his defence minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders – Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh – are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Khan said in a statement that “the effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible, and widely known”.
He added: “They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women.”
The news comes even as the UK continues to allow weapons exports to the Israeli regime which Netanyahu runs.
In April, court documents revealed that the Foreign Secretary had approved sales of arms to Israel just days after its military murdered seven aid workers, three of whom were British.
Ross Greer, the Scottish Greens’ external affairs spokesperson, said UK arms exports to Israel now had to end as he called on Cameron to resign, citing his support for Netanyahu (below).
“The people of Gaza have suffered seven months of brutal bombardment and slaughter at the hands of Israeli forces,” Greer said.
“This assault has been enabled and supported by complicit governments like the UK’s every step of the way.
“The behaviour of both the UK Government and the Labour party has been truly shameful and immoral. They have ignored clear and overwhelming evidence and made excuses for the crimes of collective punishment and genocide.
“It is right that the International Court holds the leaders of both Israel and Hamas to account for their terrible crimes.
“Israeli forces have shown a complete disregard for international humanitarian law and the rights and lives of Palestinians.
“With 1.5 million people trapped in Rafah, the stakes could not be higher. Shamefully, the weapons and equipment used to carry out this slaughter includes those supplied by the UK.
“The Foreign Secretary has not only allowed arms sales to Israel to continue, he has actively defended them.
"If he has even the slightest shred of regret about the role he has played in enabling some of the worst crimes of this century, then David Cameron must tender his resignation and go back into political obscurity.”
Cameron had been out of frontline politics until November 2023, when he was handed a life peerage by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and handed the top Cabinet position of Foreign Secretary.
