Meeting of the Parliament 03 September 2025
I rise to move the amendment in my name and make clear that the Government’s unamended motion is also in our name: we support the immediate recognition of the state of Palestine.
Today, I want to speak of one people, humanity, not two; one set of values, justice, before we talk of two-state solutions; and one goal, peace, before we apportion names to crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, where there have been so many, by so many.
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”
is a verse from the book of Exodus, which is shared by Christians and Jews, in the Old Testament. It is also a verse in the Qur’an. It is not, as some might think, an encouragement to violence; it is instead an exhortation to limit it, for retaliation to be proportionate and to end the code of vengeance that called for an eye for an eyelash.
No one who calls themselves part of humanity can say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not breached that living text, which was shared in his response to the indefensible atrocities of Hamas. Yes, Israel had the right and duty to defend itself after Hamas had murdered and kidnapped its children, but the Israeli Prime Minister does not have the right to slaughter. He has turned the clock back, rather than building a new future for his nation and region. The peace of Israel depends on the peace of Palestine.
I say in response to Jackson Carlaw that I believe that Netanyahu represents his Government—his coalition perhaps—but not the Israeli people. We must all acknowledge that, particularly in our own communities, where our protests cannot be allowed to sow division. My leader and my friend Anas Sarwar has called the Israeli Government’s recent actions genocide, and I agree. Other colleagues have talked of war crimes; I do not demur.