Israel was founded not just as a homeland for the Jewish people, but as a guarantor of their security - to ensure that what happened to the Jewish people in the Holocaust could never happen again. Through its strength and resilience Israel gradually achieved some of that longed for security and, despite the strategic threats on their borders, including Hezbollah in the north, and with Iran at their back, they normalised relations with the UAE and Bahrain through the Abraham Accords and moved towards normalising ties with Saudi Arabia.
There is no moral equivalence between the democratic State of Israel and Hamas. Hamas is a genocidal, homophobic, misogynistic, terror organisation committed through its founding charter to the destruction of Israel and Jews. It is rightly proscribed as a terror group in the UK. The Iran-backed group fundamentally opposes peace and harms the Palestinian people by deliberately installing military infrastructure within and near civilian buildings, using its civilians as human shields.
The UK recognises the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and supports equal measures of justice and freedoms for Israelis and Palestinians alike. However, Hamas does not represent those aspirations; it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and more bloodshed. Last week, Hamas committed the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust. The world has borne witness to some of the most horrific war crimes of past decades – indiscriminate murder and torture of civilians including babies and the elderly who were deliberately targeted in order to cause terror. Hundreds have been taken hostage – with 17 British citizens feared dead or missing. There is no question that Israel should be denied the opportunity to defend themselves against such attacks, or seek to rescue their people - although of course they should do so within international law and with due regard to avoiding civilian casualties where possible.
Violations of the Geneva Convention must not be tolerated by any nation that values democracy and the sanctity of life. Discussions with leaders across the globe have also been ongoing, as the UK Government works to ensure that the world speaks with one voice in opposition to these brutal attacks. The Prime Minister has already issued a joint statement with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United States, setting the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East. The Foreign Secretary has also spoken with the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, and with the Foreign Ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Oman and Qatar, to encourage them to help reduce tensions and bring relief to the civilian population.
I know that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, or their legitimate aspirations to live with equal measures of security, freedom, justice, opportunity and dignity. I understand that the UN has activated a contingency plan and is working with all parties to secure humanitarian access and scale up the response. UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development officials are closely engaged with this effort, and the Foreign Secretary has urged all who can help mitigate this unfolding crisis in any way possible. The Prime Minister has raised the need for humanitarian access and relief at every opportunity when in discussion with other nations, as is pre-emptively moving aid to Egypt to be prepared to assist in Gaza as soon as possible.
