Scotland leader: Israeli crimes in Gaza 'tantamount to ethnic cleansing'

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf says Israel’s atrocities in the Gaza Strip are "tantamount to ethnic cleansing" as Tel Aviv's war on Palestinians in the besieged territory enters its fourth consecutive month.

Yousaf said in a statement on Friday that the UK government should make clear to Israel that its actions in Gaza have gone "way beyond a legitimate response" to the October 7 retaliatory operation by the Palestinian resistance groups.

Calling on UK ministers to use their influence to push Israel for an end to hostilities, Yousaf said London should make clear that Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military commanders, must be held accountable for the deaths of Palestinian civilians if Tel Aviv does not "immediately cease indiscriminate attacks" in Gaza.

The British government's multiple refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged territory is "shameful”, he added. 

"Frankly, my plea is one of desperation. I mean, I am seeing the same images you are seeing and the same images your viewers are seeing, day in and day out,” Yousaf said in an interview with Sky News.

"And I think it's tantamount of importance for every single person to raise their voice and say that what we're seeing from Israel, the indiscriminate attacks we're seeing, go far beyond a legitimate response. They look now like vengeance and have done, I have to say, for quite some time.”

Yousaf said the UK government has to make it clear that not only should there be an “immediate ceasefire” but also the Israeli regime will be “held to account for any breaches of international law."

The first minister also called for aid to enter Gaza on the "scale needed to avert a humanitarian disaster" as 1.9 million people in the besieged area have been displaced since early October.

During the interview with Sky News, Yousaf condemned recent comments by Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said the regime should "encourage migration" of Palestinians from Gaza, which drew widespread international condemnation, including from the US.

“We have heard statements from senior ministers in Netanyahu's cabinet … and they have made statements that the population of Gaza should be resettled, moved out of Gaza, and gone as far as saying that Israeli settlements should now be in Gaza. If that is not tantamount to ethnic cleansing, then I don't know what is,” he said.

"And I think political leaders should stop beating around the bush, [and] should call what they're seeing in Gaza by what it is,” he added.

"We are seeing not only a humanitarian crisis, but we're now seeing senior members of the Netanyahu cabinet making statements that are, frankly, the textbook definition of ethnic cleansing and that should be condemned in the strongest possible manner."

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