\n Ed Miliband expressed his horror after hearing from people on the ground in Gaza, calling for the UK to ‘act more decisively than we have’ [GETTY]<\/p>\n
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband<\/a> is facing renewed calls to sever Britain\u2019s ties with Israel after describing the situation in Gaza as “horrific”.<\/p>\n Miliband said the UK must “act more decisively” after hearing accounts from people on the ground during a meeting on Gaza, intensifying pressure on the government to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete measures against Israel.<\/p>\n “When you hear that account of what is happening, you know that we as a UK government, as the prime minister has said, have got to act and act more decisively than we have,” Ed Miliband\u00a0said in a video posted on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday.<\/p>\n In the video message, the foreign secretary said he heard stories of “medicines being blocked<\/a>, children dying while waiting for vital life saving treatment”, referring to Israel’s continued siege of the Palestinian enclave.<\/p>\n Although campaigners have welcomed Miliband’s acknowledgement of Israel’s impact on Palestinians living in Gaza, the video has also been met with fierce condemnation for the government’s continued refusal to end trade with Israel.<\/p>\n “Miliband has an opportunity to break with his party’s shameful record in government and act on Britain’s obligations under international law,” Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali<\/a> said in a statement.<\/p>\n But Ali pointed to the fact that at least ten military flights departed from RAF bases for Israel in the six weeks since Andy Burnham became prime minister, adding reports\u00a0that “the Ministry of Defence declined to explain the purpose of nine of these flights.”<\/p>\n “The government must offer a full explanation and end any use of British bases to support Israel’s genocide,” Ali said.<\/p>\n The Green Party<\/a>, which was the first political party in the UK to officially recognise Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide, is calling for the UK to adopt an arms embargo against Israel and halt trade with the country. The party also calls for sanctions and an independent investigation into Israel’s alleged war crimes.<\/p>\n “It is unconscionable that the Labour government continues to enable a genocide that at least five of its own ministers have recognised,” Ali added.<\/p>\n Ali said in the statement that while a “settlement trade ban is a welcome first step, [it] does not come close to fulfilling Britain\u2019s legal obligations to prevent genocide in Gaza and withhold any support that sustains Israel\u2019s unlawful occupation.”<\/p>\n Miliband\u2019s remarks came as the foreign secretary signalled that the UK could impose \u201ccomprehensive\u201d sanctions on Israel in the coming weeks in response to its accelerating annexation of the occupied West Bank, including the controversial E1 settlement project<\/a>, which threatens to further displace Palestinians and fragment territory envisaged for a future Palestinian state.<\/p>\n