I am proud of the UK’s historic role in the birth of the state of Israel and the decades of cooperation that have defined the relationship between our two democracies since. I welcome that, to this day, Israel remains a close ally of the UK.
Israel has endured the worst terrorist attack in its history at the hands of Hamas. The UK supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law.
The UK Government is calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
These are several vital steps that we need to see, including the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas’ capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution. The international community will also need to make a massive effort to deliver a reconstruction plan for Gaza.
There must be a reduction in civilian casualties and all parties must act within international humanitarian law. I agree with the UK Government that we want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.