THE UK and Scottish LibDems have both labelled Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” for the first time.
The statements from UK leader Ed Davey and Scottish leader Alex Cole-Hamilton come after a UN Human Rights Council commission – led by former president of the Rwanda genocide international tribunal Navi Pillay – concluded that Israel had committed four of the five “genocidal acts” defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention .
The UN report came after the International Association of Genocide Scholars and Israeli human rights group B’Tselem also concluded that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
Speaking to LBC on Tuesday evening, Davey noted all of the above, adding: "They have all said there's a genocide. And I say with them, there is a genocide."
On Wednesday, Scottish LibDem leader Cole-Hamilton also called Israel’s actions genocide for the first time.
"The UN commission is clear that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide and I agree,” he said.
“The whole world needs to turn up the pressure on Israel to bring its offensive to a halt.
"[Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's strikes on Doha show that he is less interested in securing the release of the hostages than he is in continuing to fuel regional destabilisation.
“The only country with real leverage is the United States. The Prime Minister must use this state visit to press Donald Trump to finally take action to end the assault on Gaza City, stop the aid blockade and secure the release of the hostages still held by Hamas.
“The Trump administration should also reverse their reckless decision to block Palestinian officials from attending the UN General Assembly, meaning Palestinians are shut out of the very place meant to deliver peace.”
The UK Government insisted that "any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred should be made following a judgment by a competent national or international court”.
Previously, the International Court of Justice ruled that Palestinians’ right to be protected from genocide is facing a “plausible” risk, which should have legally obliged the UK Government to act.
Amnesty International’s crisis response manager Kristyan Benedict said on Tuesday that the Labour administration needed to “stop indulging in genocide denial” .
“We welcome the UN commission’s findings that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza – a significant and necessary moment,” she said. “Now the UK Government must change its position and take action without delay.
“Its continued reluctance to officially acknowledge even the risk of the ongoing genocide in Gaza is increasingly untenable and stands in stark contrast to overwhelming legal evidence and the mounting consensus among international genocide scholars and human rights organisations.
“Under the Genocide Convention, all states – including the UK – bear a clear and binding legal obligation to act. This solemn duty, enshrined in international law, cannot be dismissed or delayed due to political convenience.”
On Wednesday, it was confirmed that the official death toll in Gaza – widely considered to be an underestimate – had passed 65,000 people .
Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts announcing famine in Gaza City, where Israel is now conducting a large-scale ground offensive.
A coalition of leading aid groups has urged the international community to take stronger measures to stop Israel’s offensive on Gaza City. It came a day after a commission of UN experts found Israel was committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave. Israel denies the allegation.
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide,” read the statement from the aid groups.
“States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action.”
