THE First Minister has urged the UK Government to hold Israel to account and described their repeated refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire as “shameful”.
Humza Yousaf said the UK Government must make clear that Israeli action in Gaza has “gone way beyond a legitimate response” to the Hamas attack of October 7.
The FM urged the UK Government to hold Israel to account and described their repeated refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire as “shameful”.
Yousaf has said UK ministers should use their position as a trusted ally of Israel to demand an end to the “indiscriminate attacks” that have seen thousands of Palestinians killed.
It has now been 10 weeks since Israel invaded Gaza following the attack by Hamas on October 7.
The United Nationals has expressed concern that up to 1.9 million people have been displaced and are moving into smaller areas of Gaza.
“The time has come for the UK Government to speak out forcefully and make it clear that Israeli action has gone way beyond a legitimate response to the appalling Hamas attack of October 7,” Yousaf said.
“Hearing comments from an Israeli Government Minister urging displacement of Palestinians from Gaza is deeply disturbing and should be universally condemned.
“Gaza is Occupied Palestinian Territory and will be part of a future Palestinian state - Gazans should not be subject to forcible displacement or relocation from Gaza.
“The UK Government must make clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israeli Ministers and military commanders will be held accountable for the killing of thousands of innocent civilians and the deaths of tens of thousands more from starvation and disease if Israel does not immediately cease indiscriminate attacks and allow aid to enter Gaza on the scale needed to avert a humanitarian disaster.”
Yousaf added that Hamas leaders must also be held accountable for the “appalling attacks” against Israeli civilians on October 7.
“Talk of a sustainable ceasefire from the UK Government has made no difference on the ground, as the situation has worsened for the people of Gaza,” the FM said.
“The UK Government must use its voice and influence to stop the killing – directly with the Israeli government, and indirectly with the US.”
It comes as the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) for Palestinian Refugees has warned that 40% of the population of Gaza is now at risk of famine due to “catastrophic hunger”.
And, the latest Integrated food security Phase Classification (IPC) brief shows Gaza is experiencing a food security emergency driven by ongoing hostilities.
Westminster politicians have come under fire for suggesting “humanitarian pauses” over a full ceasefire in Gaza.
On Friday, UK Labour leader Keir Starmer (above) said that Israel alone should not be allowed to decide what happens to Gaza after the war with Hamas is over, calling for international involvement and called for a “humanitarian truce” in fighting.
“We cannot have Israeli occupation, we cannot have people displaced who cannot go back to where they came, because two million have been displaced in the last four months, that is intolerable,” Starmer said.
“I don’t think, frankly, it is for Israel to determine what happens in Gaza. There has got to be much more international agreement on this, otherwise it simply isn’t going to work.”
Earlier, the Israeli defence minister said that the country’s forces would shift to a scaled down “new combat approach” in northern Gaza. Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces would continue to fight Hamas in the south of the territory “for as long as necessary”.
He also outlined a proposal for how Gaza would be run once Hamas is defeated, with Israel keeping security control while an undefined, Israeli-guided Palestinian body runs day-to-day administration.
Gallant said the US and other countries would oversee rebuilding in a document entitled a “Vision for Phase 3” of the war. His office said the phase had not yet begun, and the ideas were his and not official policy, which would have to be set by Israel’s war and security cabinets.
