Hansard

I will not.

I want to address the points that were made by Ted Brocklebank and Jackson Carlaw, who should perhaps clarify their position.

Ted Brocklebank suggested, or inferred, that 75 per cent of the Palestinian casualties were Hamas terrorists; he did not say that directly, but he implied it. Does that mean that the children who have been killed in the air attacks—20 per cent of all those killed—are the terrorists? There have been bombings of whole families—of 15 or 16 members of the same family. Are they the terrorists? What about the women who are lying on hospital floors, who cannot be treated because there is virtually no space for them? Are they the terrorists? Surely the Conservatives cannot believe the propaganda on that.

We have not witnessed anything like this for years in the middle east. Let me make our position clear. There has been a suggestion that we are not calling for a cease-fire on both sides, but that is not the case; we are calling unequivocally for a cease-fire from Hamas and from the Israelis, who have the most powerful army in the world.

Robin Harper said that perhaps the problem is that we have been too even-handed in our approach. Many commentators have said that while we have clearly supported Israel's right to defend itself, its right to security and its right to exist, our failure to criticise its repeated violations of international law is perhaps where the international community has failed.

Hugh O'Donnell was brave enough to ask why only the Palestinians should pay the debt for the horrors inflicted on the Jewish people.

I cannot leave Jackson Carlaw's point unanswered. He is absolutely right to say that there have been attacks on Jewish communities in this country. I, and others, have written directly to The Scotsman and The Herald about the blogging that I believe is anti-Semitic. We are in unity with the Conservatives on that point. Many Jewish people in Scotland have spoken out bravely about Israel. We always make the clear distinction that we are talking not about the Jewish race, but about the actions of the Israeli Government and leaders. I have always believed—and this is true now more than ever—that the Israeli people and the Palestinian people want a settlement. Let us be clear that the leaders on all sides have failed to deliver that.

Patricia Ferguson and others talked about the Palestinian elections of 2006. I was there; I observed the elections and even I was shocked by the radicalisation that had taken place in the west bank as well as the Gaza strip, with 70 per cent of the popular vote going to Hamas. That would not be my choice—Patricia Ferguson said that, too—but we can see why people made it.

When I met Isaac Herzog, a Labour minister in the Knesset, who has been on television in the past few days, he admitted to me and to other MPs that they humiliated and failed the Fatah leadership and, as a result, the Palestinian people wondered what the point was of voting for a moderate Government if it was going to be ignored. What was the world's response? We asked Hamas to lay down its arms and enter into dialogue, but on day 1 of the elections we withdrew all the financial support. Ever since then, the ordinary people of Palestine have suffered.

I am afraid to say that there are analogies with what happened in Lebanon, which I also visited, when the Israeli army bombed a UN shelter in Qana to which civilians had fled. Under international law—perhaps this will be disputed, too—people are not supposed to bomb UN points of security to which people have fled. In Qana, there are graves of civilians who were killed when the shelter to which they ran, with big blue UN flags displayed everywhere, was bombed. A similar thing happened last night. Even the UN workers said that there was no evidence of firing from the school. Are they not telling the truth, either—who knows? I like to think that the end result was unacceptable to any human being.

I am glad that we have had the opportunity to exchange views, which is important. We must find points of common ground, despite the fact that we may disagree about how to resolve a conflict that has been around for 60 years. On Saturday, members of the general public came along to hand over things from their medicine cupboards, such as medicine that was in date, because they wanted to do something practical. We can do something practical, too.

Since I came back from Gaza in April, I have been working with Edinburgh Direct Aid to try to get a convoy of medical aid and equipment to Gaza. That will prove difficult now. It would be crazy to suggest that we should even attempt it until the current situation has been assessed. It would be a symbolic gesture, but I think that Scots want to make that connection. They believe what we believe and, like everybody in the middle east, they want peace. Until we get peace, they want to do something practical to help. I appeal to all members of the Parliament who want to do something practical to write to pharmacies in their area to ask whether they are willing to donate medicine. If we cannot take it to Gaza, there are plenty of agencies that will.

On Friday, Greater Glasgow Health Board agreed to donate decommissioned equipment so it can be taken to Gaza. As we know, people there are in need of absolutely everything. We have perfectly good equipment here, such as full anaesthetic machines, which they could use. It is just a question of getting it over there.