Keir Starmer's silence has emboldened Netanyahu in Iran attacks
READ MORE: Israel 'already planning even more brutal' attacks on Iran, Donald Trump claims
Current reports say civilians, including children, have died in the attacks across Iran. In an official response, Keir Starmer describes the strikes as 'concerning' and urges 'all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently'. He says, 'Escalation serves no-one in the region. Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate'. But Starmer fails to mention who exactly is escalating at this moment. Nor does he condemn the inflammatory actions of Netanyahu and his regime.
But this is nothing new. In the past two years, we have witnessed our leadership pander to the Israeli state as it illegally occupies and starves Palestinians, killing more than 55,000 people in Gaza. At least 181 journalists and media workers have been killed. According to UNICEF, at the start of this year, more than 14,500 children were killed in Gaza — the numbers are now likely considerably higher. Gaza has the highest percentage of child amputees in the world. In response, we learn that our government sells fighter jet parts to the Israeli military, that the previous Conservative government threatened to withdraw funding from the International Criminal Court over its plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, and we now know IDF soldiers are being trained on UK soil.
More than 300 UK Foreign Office Staff raised concerns over the UK's complicity in Israeli war crimes. Amnesty International, Oxfam, War on Want, Plan International, Christian Aid and myriad other third-sector organisations have spoken out against the UK government's role in supporting Israel.
(Image: PA)
'The UK government must stop equivocating when it comes to the widespread breaches of international law Israel is clearly responsible for — this only serves to conceal the truth about the crimes of apartheid and genocide being inflicted daily on the Palestinian people,' says Karla McLaren, Amnesty International UK's Government Relations Manager.
When it comes to the suppression of its own people, Iran's Islamic Republic regime is undoubtedly a bad actor. This in no way justifies Israeli aggression or the targeting of civilian populations. Westminster must make this clear. Our government needs to understand that people in Scotland will not stand for its complicity with Israel as it destabilises the Middle East, attacks regional powers, and enacts war crimes. National demonstrations will take place across the country this weekend, I hope to see you there.
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Wales Online
43 minutes ago
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Sky News
an hour ago
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
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