Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer refused to call Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide”, despite pressure to do so at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

The pressure came from Green Party’s co-leader Carla Denyer, who was attacking the decision of Israel’s Knesset to back legislation to curtail the activities of Palestinian UN agency Unrwa.

She told MPs: “The ICJ (International Court of Justice) has mandated that Israel ensures access to life saving aid in Gaza under Article Two of the Genocide Convention, yet the Israeli government has voted to effectively block its delivery. As a human rights lawyer, does the Prime Minister agree that banning Unrwa is a breach of international law?”

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 08: New Green MP, and party co-leader Carla Denyer (MP for Bristol Central), poses for a photo on Abingdon Green, opposite the Palace of Westminster on July 08, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

She continued: “How much more evidence does need before calling out what is happening as a genocide and acting in line with the UK's responsibilities as a signatory of the Genocide Convention.”

Starmer said that he “never described the what's going on in Gaza as genocide” but said that “all sides should comply with international law”.

On the Knesset’s votes to restrict Unrwa’s activities, he told the Commons that he was “very worried and concerned about the decision that's just been taken by the parliament in relation to Unrwa, there's a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and that decision will only make it much worse” and said the decision “needs to be reversed.”

The Prime Minister had already publicly criticised the Knesset’s vote and said in a statement on Monday night that “under its international obligations, Israel must ensure sufficient aid reaches civilians in Gaza” and that “only Unrwa can deliver humanitarian aid at the scale and pace needed.”

92 Members of Knesset voted in favour of barring Unrwa from operating in Israeli territory with only 10 objections. Another bill to restrict the agency’s activities in Gaza and the West Bank was backed 87-9 on Monday.

One of Labour’s earliest actions in government was to restore funding to the controversial agency. Under the Conservatives, the UK was one of several countries that stopped funding Unrwa in January 2024 after Israel accused its employees of participating in the October 7 attacks and subsequent violence.

The Green Party’s co-leader Carla Denyer was elected to Parliament in July’s general election, defeating Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire in Bristol Central.

During her campaign, the Greens were accused of “stirring division” after the JC revealed that they used the Palestinian flag on a batch of election literature.

Denyer used her maiden speech in Parliament to call for a ban on arms sales to Israel.