Steve Coogan leads 2,000+ Brit actors calling for Israel ceasefire as they accuse West of ‘tolerating war crimes’

Steve Coogan leads 2,000+ Brit actors calling for Israel ceasefire as they accuse West of ‘tolerating war crimes’

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GB NEWS
Alex Davies

By Alex Davies


Published: 17/10/2023

- 16:28

Updated: 17/10/2023

- 16:53

More than 2,000 cultural figures have signed the open letter calling for a ceasefire

An open letter calling for a Gaza ceasefire amid the Israel-Hamas conflict has garnered more than 2,000 signatures from famous faces in the UK.

Game of Thrones star Charles Dance, The Reckoning's Steve Coogan and Call the Midwife's Miriam Margolyes are among those who've signed the open letter accusing the UK government of "not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them".


Other notable names include Frankie Boyle, Josie Long, Maxine Peake, Peter Mullan, Tilda Swinton and hundreds more.

Those who have signed have demanded “our governments end their military and political support for Israel’s actions” and have called for an “end to the unprecedented cruelty being inflicted on Gaza”.

The full open letter reads as follows: "We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe. Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and cut off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians.

"In the words of the UN’s undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, ‘the spectre of death’ is hanging over the territory.

Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes has also signed the open letter

PA

"Gaza is already a society of refugees and the children of refugees. Now, in their hundreds of thousands, bombarded from air, sea and land, Palestinians whose grandparents were forced out of their homes at the barrel of a gun are again being told to flee – or face collective punishment on an unimaginable scale.

"Dispossessed of rights, described by Israel’s minister of defence as 'human animals', they have become people to whom almost anything can be done.

"Our governments are not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them.

"There will come a time when they are held to account for their complicity. But for now, while condemning every act of violence against civilians and every infringement of international law whoever perpetrates them, our obligation is to do all we can to bring an end to the unprecedented cruelty being inflicted on Gaza.

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Game of Thrones star Charles Dance

Game of Thrones star Charles Dance was also one of the signatories

PA

"We support the global movement against the destruction of Gaza and the mass displacement of the Palestinian people.

"We demand that our governments end their military and political support for Israel’s actions. We call for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of Gaza’s crossings to allow humanitarian aid to enter unhindered."

The letter comes after terrorist group Hamas launched its largest-ever attack on Israel on 7 October, killing thousands of people.

In response, Israel has launched a “total siege” on Gaza as officials warn a ground invasion is likely.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-AbdollahianIran warns it could launch ‘preemptive action’ against Israel in coming hoursSNNTV

Critics have claimed that should the ground invasion be given the green light, it could be classed as a war crime, leading to thousands fleeing their homes, low water and food supplies, and injuries on both sides.

Others have warned that the ongoing crisis could threaten to drag the entire Middle East into the conflict.

Iran issued one warning last night as their Foreign Minister claimed that “preemptive action” against Israel could be possible in the coming hours.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned that Iran-backed groups in the region “will not allow the Zionist regime [Israel] to do whatever it wants in Gaza”.

“The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy [Israel]... in the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front,” he said.

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