THE Prime Minister failed to describe the killing of an “an unarmed Palestinian man walking under a white flag” by Israeli forces as a “war crime” as he again rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn brought up an ITV news report on the distressing footage and called on the PM to act with the same “urgency” as had been shown in the wake of the broadcaster’s dramatisation of the Post Office scandal.
Rishi Sunak would not be drawn on the footage and insisted he had urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint.
Gaza has been under bombardment from Israel since the beginning of October, after more than 1100 Israelis were killed and 240 were taken hostage by Hamas.
The SNP have repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the region in light of Israel’s ferocious response, which has seen more than 25,000 Palestinians killed in four months.
READ MORE: Footage captures moment civilian waving white flag in Gaza 'safe zone' is shot dead
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Flynn said: “Last night as Tory MPs were, once again, fighting amongst themselves, the public were sat at home watching John Irvine of ITV News report on footage from Gaza of an unarmed Palestinian man walking under a white flag being shot and killed by the IDF. Prime Minister, such an act constitutes a war crime, does it not?”
Sunak said Foreign Secretary David Cameron (below) was in the Middle East this week and was urging Israel to abide by the rules of war in international law.
He said: “We’ve been absolutely consistent that international humanitarian law should be respected and civilians should be protected. I’ve made that point expressly with to prime minister Netanyahu and the Foreign Secretary is in the region this week making exactly the same point.”
But the SNP MP hit back, highlighting the speed with which politicians of all stripes responded to the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, calling on MPs to show the “same urgency” towards the crisis in the Middle East.
Flynn said: “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to rise to that despatch box and tell the people of these isles and elsewhere that shooting an unarmed man walking under a white flag is a war crime.
“Now in recent weeks, this House has acted with urgency and intent following an ITV drama. The question is: Will this House show the same urgency and intent following this ITV news report and finally back a ceasefire in Gaza?”
Sunak replied: “No one wants to see this conflict go on for a moment than necessary and we do want to see an immediate and sustained humanitarian pause to get more aid in and, crucially, the hostages out, helping create the conditions for a sustainable ceasefire. I set out the conditions for that earlier in the House.
READ MORE: Tory MP calls on party to oust Rishi Sunak or face 'massacre' at election
“The Foreign Secretary is in the region today and will continue to press all our allies and partners to make sure that we can bring about that outcome.”
Meanwhile, Sunak and Keir Starmer clashed as the Labour leader mocked the PM after a Tory MP on Tuesday night called for him to go.
Simon Clarke broke ranks with an article in The Telegraph and became the second Conservative MP to call publicly for Sunak's resignation.
Sunak said Starmer was someone who "takes the knee, who wanted to abolish the monarchy, who still doesn’t know what a woman is, and who just this week, one of his frontbenchers, said that they backed teaching divisive white privilege in our schools".
The Labour leader replied: "He spouts so much nonsense no wonder they are giving up on him.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel