THE SNP have called on the UK Government to immediately halt arms sales to Israel amid its Rafah offensive.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Israel’s rejected ceasefire and attack on Rafah requires “decisive and tangible” action from Westminster.
Israel launched strikes in Rafah on Monday, just hours after Hamas agreed to a Gaza ceasefire.
More than a million people are huddled in tents and overcrowded apartments in the area after fleeing Israel’s military offensive in other parts of the Gaza Strip.
READ MORE: Scottish stars call for end to UK arms exports to Israel - full letter
An Israeli tank brigade also seized control of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday morning, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city.
Flynn said that the UK Government is “failing the people of Gaza” and “implicit in the deaths of tens of thousands”.
“The attack on Rafah by the Israeli government, as well as their rejection of a ceasefire, requires decisive and tangible action from this UK Government,” he added.
“Right now, the best way to increase diplomatic pressure for peace is to end arms sales to Israel. Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer must back ending arms sales to Israel - it’s time for consensus.
“For months, Westminster parties dithered over calling for an immediate ceasefire and now they are doing the same on ending arms sales to Israel.
"The SNP has been clear and consistent - all international efforts need to be made to secure a ceasefire and an important part of that pressure is ending arms sales to Israel immediately.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, said he was “deeply concerned” about the potential humanitarian cost of an offensive.
But deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell still refused to commit to halting arms sales.
He told MPs on Tuesday that the UK with its allies at the UN are “working together to try and improve what is a terrible situation”.
But Mitchell was repeatedly criticised by opposition MPs for giving virtually the same update on Gaza as last week, to which he responded that this was the case because “the parameters of the situation are the same”.
SNP foreign affairs spokesperson Brendan O’Hara (below) said the UK Government will be turning a blind eye to the “slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians” by continuing arms sales.
He told MPs: “So, minister, is this the breach of international humanitarian law you referred to last week, and will that breach immediately end sales of arms to Israel? Or is this yet another example of the UK declaring a red line only for Israel to completely ignore it without condemnation or consequence?
“Because minister, we know how this plays out. You plead with them, they ignore you, they do what they want, and you find excuses for them and so a blind eye will be turned to the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent civilians.
“And while the UK Government calls for more aid to the survivors, it will continue to issue arms export licences. This has been the pattern of behaviour for seven months. Can we expect anything different?”
Deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell replied: “We are working flat out in these very difficult circumstances to achieve something different and we will continue to do so.”
He added: “(Mr O’Hara) asks me about the issue of the sale of arms. The Foreign Secretary announced on April 9, that the British position with regard to export licences is unchanged. We do not publish the Government’s legal advice, but we always act in accordance with it and I would point out to him that we publish transparently and on a quarterly basis data on export licensing decisions.”
The SNP previously attempted to table a motion mandating the UK Government to immediately end arms sales to Israel, but it was blocked by the House of Commons.
SNP MPs also signed a letter, calling on the Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch to "immediately suspend export licences for arms transfers to Israel". The letter was also signed by 134 MPs and Lords from across the political spectrum.
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