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People condemning Russia but not Israel are hypocrites, says Yousaf
Former first minister makes apparent swipe at Sir Keir Starmer after PM hit out at Russian bombing of Kyiv hospital
People who condemn Russia but not Israel are hypocrites, Humza Yousaf has said in an apparent swipe at Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Yousaf, the former Scottish first minister and SNP leader, compared Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine with Benjamin Netanyahu’s bombardment of Gaza following the Oct 7 Hamas terror attacks.
Sir Keir, the Prime Minister, said Putin was guilty of “the most depraved of actions” after Kyiv’s main children’s hospital was struck on Monday in a Russian missile barrage that killed at least 22 people.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Yousaf said: “If you rightly condemn Russia for their depravity as they bomb hospitals and kill children, but continue to sell arms to Israel, who have killed over 14,000 children (and counting) and destroyed Gaza’s hospitals with impunity, then you are a hypocrite. Simple.”
Labour lost support among Muslim and Left-wing voters at the general election after it initially refused to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
In contrast, the SNP demanded an end to the fighting in November last year and proposed a parliamentary motion that prompted a flurry of resignations from Sir Keir’s frontbench.
The Prime Minister said before the election that any decision on future weapons sales to Israel would depend on legal advice seen by the Government.
Speaking to Mr Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, last weekend, Sir Keir told him there was a “clear and urgent” need for a ceasefire in Gaza after nine months of conflict. He offered condolences for the deaths of 1,200 people in the Oct 7 massacre and called for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into the West Bank.
In a separate call with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, Sir Keir said Palestine had an “undeniable right” to be recognised as a state as part of a two-state solution.
Pro-Palestinian candidates effectively became the sixth-largest party in Parliament when five independents who led their campaigns on the issue were returned as MPs on Thursday.