More than 100 British cultural figures have signed a letter calling on Labour leader Keir Starmer to end arms sales to Israel if he wins the next general election.
Starmer's Labour party is leading the opinion polls ahead of the July 4 vote, but the party leadership has faced intense criticism for its primary support for Israel's devastating attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In a letter published on Sunday, prominent figures including Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes and Riz Ahmed said that as a former human rights lawyer, Starmer should lead the way in “ending UK complicity in war crimes in Gaza”.
The letter, referring to Israel's eight-month military operation in the Gaza Strip, said the country had ignored an International Court of Justice ruling to “immediately end military attacks in the Rafah area.”
It added: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu currently faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
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“It is morally reprehensible to continue selling arms to a country whose leaders have been accused of serious violations of international law.”
Some polls have Labour leading by nearly 20 percentage points, but Starmer leads a party that is divided over the Gaza war.
Both Labour and the ruling Conservative party have backed Israel's decision to enter war in October 2023, but the opposition has called for a humanitarian ceasefire afterwards.
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Days after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, Mr Starmer sparked controversy within his party by backing Israel's decision to block the flow of food, water, electricity and other essentials to the Gaza Strip.
The war, now approaching its eighth month, has turned much of the exclave into an uninhabitable hell.
Entire neighborhoods were wiped out: homes, schools and hospitals razed by airstrikes and burned by tank fire.
Nearly the entire population has reportedly been forced to flee their homes, and those remaining in northern Gaza are on the brink of starvation.
A YouGov poll last month found that more than two-thirds of Britons want a ceasefire in Gaza, and Britons are significantly more likely to sympathise with the Palestinians than Israelis.
YouGov researchers also found that a majority of people in the country support a ban on arms sales to Israel.
