Events in the Middle East

Over the last week we have seen a variety of responses to the attacks by Hamas against Israel. The US and UK Governments, along with many other western countries, have clearly and unequivocally denounced the attacks as terrorism and have strongly supported Israel's right to self-defence. The Leader of the Labour Party, most likely the UK's next Prime Minister, has done likewise. At the same time, the BBC and other commentators, including universities, have been much more equivocal in their responses - citing the oppressive nature of life in Gaza, the disproportionate force of Israel's response and the fact that there have been victims on both sides. I don't judge people, or organisations, for taking that view and I can understand why they might come to that conclusion. Of course, Twitter/X has been littered with brief comments in support of both positions, many of which represent the extremes of public opinion in the UK.

I considered engaging on Twitter/X but decided against. I don't think it is possible, or sensible, to engage with an issue as complex as the conflict between Israel and Palestinians within the restrictive format of Twitter/X. But I felt it necessary to say something about the situation in the Middle East. Like others, I knelt in silent protest after the murder of George Floyd, I stood with women after the murder of Sarah Everard and I was open about my horror at the destruction of the World Trade Center back in 2001, the attacks on London in 2005 and Manchester in 2017. How could I then stay silent about the murders of over 1,000 men, women and children in Israel?

I can't. To do so would be to allow the fear of the mob to silence me. What kind of leader would I be if that was the approach I took? Hamas was not justified in launching terrorist attacks against Israel. The murder of men, women and children was not an act of war, it was not the inevitable consequence of warfare in an urban area. It was a deliberate and targeted act of terror. We should not be mealy-mouthed about that, we should not seek to justify it and we should not draw some kind of equivalence with Israel's response - the response of a democratic state against an act of terrorism. I don't think I could be clearer on that point. Hamas was wrong, its attacks unjustified and its use of civilians as shields in Gaza is diabolical.

Israel has already started to respond to these attacks and it looks like that response will escalate in the coming days. In responding, it is important that Israel acts like a democratic state that respects international law and the law of armed conflict. It must be proportionate, seek to minimise civilian casualties and provide humanitarian and other assistance to those displaced by military action. A failure to act in that way not only risks Israel losing the support of its allies, it risks creating the conditions for a deepening of the crisis and a broader escalation in the region - arguably leading to the outcome sought by Hamas and its sponsors when they formulated their plans for last week's attack.

Whilst we can draw no equivalence between the terrorist attacks by Hamas and the legitimate right of Israel to respond, we can and must treat the innocent victims on both sides, together with those affected by the conflict, with equal care and compassion. War is a brutal business and war in densely populated urban areas is the most brutal end of it. We should not pretend such a war can be conducted without the significant loss of innocent life. That is especially so when Hamas uses the civilian population of Gaza to shield its operations. The military support promised by the US and the UK should help Israel to better target its weapons, reducing (but sadly not eliminating) civilian casualties, but it must be matched by a huge increase in aid to the Palestinian people if we are to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. We must also subject Israel's response to the same level of scrutiny that we would any other government, or nation - no more and no less and this means Israel must facilitate access by journalists and do everything possible to protect them.

Finally, we must be proactive in ensuring that communities in the UK respect both the rule of law and each other. Glorifying acts of terror, or indeed Israel's response, is grossly inappropriate and I would appeal to people of all communities to avoid actions that are likely to create conflict between communities here in the UK. I am deeply saddened by the stories of Jewish schools needing extra security, or indeed being closed, and we must also be vigilant about the actions of the far right, who will use the ill-considered protests by some who support Hamas to further their aim of sowing discord and hatred of others, particularly Muslims. These actions should be dealt with robustly by the Police. But we must also continue to allow peaceful protest - protest against a disproportionate response by Israel and protest against these acts of terror by Hamas. Freedom of speech is only relevant when it creates the opportunity for people to say things with which we might profoundly disagree. The events in the Middle East should not be used as a pretext for closing down debate, or restricting freedom of speech within the law, however distasteful that might be.