British actors Tilda Swinton, Steve Coogan and Miriam Margolyes are among a group of more than 2000 artists and celebrities have accused western governments of “aiding and abetting” Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.
The group, calling itself, Artists For Palestine, published a petition on Tuesday in which it accused world governments of not just tolerating but “aiding and abetting” what they describe as Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza.
Renowned actors Tilda Swinton, Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes and comedian Frankie Boyle were among those who said: “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.”
Palestinians, they continued, “have become people to whom almost anything can be done.”
“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,” the letter continues.
Citing Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s depiction of Palestinians as “human animals”, the artists write that Palestinians “have become people to whom almost anything can be done”.
Gallant made the comments while announcing Israel’s “complete siege” of Gaza, while also cutting off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians in the enclave.
“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.”
At least 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began following a surprise Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October. More than a thousand of those killed are children. In Israel, 1,400 people have been killed.
