ISTANBUL

Scottish National Party's (SNP) Middle East spokesperson has urged British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to not sit silent and take more action in Gaza.

"Your Labour Government cannot sit silent as a genocide unfolds in Gaza and I look forward to hearing from you," Brendan O’Hara wrote in a letter quoted by Scottish daily The National.

He listed some actions Starmer should take such as complete arms embargo on Israel, immediate recognition of a Palestinian state, formally joining the prevention of genocide case brought forth by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and imposing economic sanctions on Israel.

He called for a public notice to be issued warning UK nationals, currently serving in the Israeli military, that they could face prosecution for war crimes upon their return.

O’Hara also demanded a naval operation to be launched to deliver aid to the enclave, and for a commitment to enforce international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet.

"Failure to do so is a breach of your legal obligations," he stressed.

In the meantime, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie "implored" the UK and Scottish Governments to take "immediate action," by replacing military and political support for Israel with a package of sanctions.

“The fact that Gaza is facing famine is a grotesque and totally avoidable consequence of this horrific war. It is a man-made crisis and the forced starvation of a people," Harvie said.

He added that their governments are "actively participating" in the "late-stage genocide" unfolding in Gaza by "allowing Israeli forces to carry on rounding up displaced Palestinians, and killing them when they attempt to find food and water."

"Downing Street must immediately end all arms sales and military cooperation with an Israeli government that is inflicting some of the worst atrocities of this century on the people of Gaza," Harvie said.

He also called on the SNP to back global calls for boycott, disinvestment and sanctions while ending public funding for companies "with Palestinian blood on their hands.”

The UN-backed monitoring body, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), reported that as of Aug. 15, famine in Gaza City had been confirmed. Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, and has devastated the enclave.