Meeting of the Parliament 03 September 2025
Unfortunately, that is not necessarily generally and commonly the case. In fact, we talk about Hamas’s atrocity in Israel, not Gaza’s atrocity in Israel. The parallel is to be seen. It is not the Jewish people who are responsible for the decisions of their Government. There is a dangerous double standard that blurs the line between legitimate criticism of Government policy and the prejudice of antisemitism that some will exploit. We have to be vigilant about the distinction being erased. I thank the cabinet secretary for his remarks as he paid tribute to the Jewish community in this country and directly addressed their fears.
Hamas’s evil does not stop there; it embeds itself among the very civilians it claims to represent. It has launched rockets from schools, hidden weapons in hospitals and stored explosives beneath homes. It has turned the people of Gaza into human shields. The suffering of civilians in Gaza is real, but the moral responsibility is not only that directed at Israel; first and foremost it is with Hamas. Some blame Israel for the shortage of aid—I have heard that said, and I think that there are legitimate arguments that need to be explored. However, the reality is more complex and more damning of the international system. Israel has opened border crossings and convoys are ready, and yet, too often, food and medicine sit idle because the United Nations refuses Israeli escorts to guarantee safe passage from looting. We know that reports suggest that as much as 88 per cent of aid was intercepted and that what does get through is often stolen by Hamas and diverted away from the children and families who need it most.
Let me be absolutely clear: this is a shortage that is caused not only by Israel’s blockade but by Hamas’s brutality and the inaction of the United Nations. It is the innocent who pay the price.