The plight of many tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza is heart-rending. It is vital that essential humanitarian supplies of aid, including food, water and medicines immediately get to those who need them – as I have said repeatedly, including in Parliament.
The attacks by Hamas on October 7 were horrific, appalling and inexcusable. There is absolutely no justification for the murders, rapes and kidnapping that occurred, nor for the continued holding of hostages – some very young, others very old.
But whilst Israel is justified in defending itself and in securing the release of hostages, I share profound concerns about military action in Rafah. I agree entirely with the Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron, in urging Israel to "stop and think seriously" about any ground offensive there. Speaking of the estimated 1.5 million people sheltering in Rafah, Lord Cameron pointed out that "There's nowhere for them to go. They can't go south into Egypt. They can't go north and back to their homes because many have been destroyed.”
Similarly, I fully support Lord Cameron’s repeated calls for a pause in the fighting, with the aim of then securing a "sustainable ceasefire". He has correctly pointed out that this would allow more aid to enter Gaza, and for Israeli hostages to be rescued or released.
In addition, I believe that we must all do more both to tackle the immediate crisis and to find a workable and lasting solution to the decades-long source of conflict in the Middle East.
That's why I was so pleased to host the Ambassadors of Arab countries in Parliament recently on behalf of the Conservative Middle East Council – dialogue with nations in the region is a key plank of any future solution to this crisis.
I very much welcomed the words of the Foreign Secretary at that event. He said:
"…Almost most important of all, is to give the Palestinian people a political horizon so that they can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution and crucially the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"We have a responsibility there because we should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, what it would comprise, how it would work and crucially, looking at the issue, that as that happens, we with allies will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations.
"That could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible."
The BBC reported Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission in London, as saying Lord Cameron's comments were "historic", because for first time the UK was considering recognising a Palestinian state "as a contribution to a peaceful solution rather than an outcome".
Lord Cameron has since again travelled to the Middle East for more meetings with political leaders. This underlines the determination of the UK government to see a stop to the fighting and a lasting settlement for peace, a determination that I share wholeheartedly.
See my previous statements on Gaza: Gaza Update 11/12/23, Gaza Update 15/11/23, Gaza Statement 27/10/23
