A Senator has urged Britain to step up in international affairs, particularly when it comes to Israel.

On Wednesday, Government Senator Walton Brown called for the super powers to address the recent Israeli attack on a humanitarian aid ship headed for Gaza, an Israeli-occupied area under the Palestinian Authority.

Although he admitted it was unusual for him to speak about foreign affairs in Senate Chambers, he felt compelled to speak up about the issue.

"As a British colony, we don't have an ability to act in any capacity in the international arena, but I think there are certain times when you need to add your voice in the chorus of condemnation of such an act," he said.

Senator Brown feared if the world powers do not step up soon, it would give Israel "licence for more dramatic, more drastic and more oppressive acts".

He also said people looking back at the actions of the Nazis when they first began to direct specific policies against Jews will notice a very similar pattern in the Israel and Palestinian conflict.

"This is not too dissimilar from what the Nazis were doing in the 1930s," he said.

He called for the UK to get involved and said: "As one of the world's most influential countries, they should speak up on issues affecting Iran, Venezuela and Cuba and to be consistent they should speak out and hold Israel accountable ultimately for the very harsh conditions they have placed on the lives of those in the occupied territories."

Opposition Senator Michael Dunkley also spoke on international issues including the violence in Jamaica and the BP oil spill.

While the oil spill is currently limited to the Gulf Stream, the Senator said it was only a matter of time before Bermuda is affected.

"What are we going to do when the oil comes around here?" Sen. Dunkley asked. "We cannot afford to have any of that oil on our coral reefs or our beaches.

"It's a big issue. We need to plan what we should do when it reaches our pristine shores."

Regarding the recent violence in Jamaica, the Senator said that Bermuda needs to learn from Jamaica's mistakes.

"I think there are many lessons to be learnt for Bermuda," he said. "A lot of the success we have had in the past is based on the lessons we have learnt from Jamaica."

Sen. Dunkley applauded the efforts made by the Police to curb violence locally, but said that the public still have a vital role to play.

"We have a problem that is not going away," he said.

"Until the community gets involved, the rot is not going to stop, the cancer is going to grow."