James Grundy MP: ​Horrific crimes must not be tolerated

The world has borne witness to some of the most horrific war crimes of past decades – indiscriminate murder and torture of civilians including babies and the elderly.

Some have been burned alive and there have been reports of beheadings.

Such violations of the Geneva Convention must not be tolerated by any nation that values democracy and the sanctity of life.

As a result, hundreds have been taken hostage – with 17 British citizens feared dead or missing.

Israel has not only the right – but a fundamental responsibility – to protect its citizens and put an end to the brutal rule of Hamas.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was absolutely right when he said that there must be “no moral equivalence” between the democratic State of Israel and Hamas.

Hamas is a genocidal, homophobic, misogynistic, terror organisation committed through its founding charter to the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people.

It is rightly proscribed as a terror group in the UK. This Iranian-backed group fundamentally opposes peace and harms the Palestinian people by deliberately installing military infrastructure within and near civilian buildings, using its civilians as human shields.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in the hope of securing peace with the Palestinians. Substantial amounts of aid has been directed by the UK and the international community.

Sadly, instead of focusing on infrastructure and the economy – Hamas has pumped millions into armaments, and its terror apparatus, at the expense of the Palestinian population. Hamas recently released footage of EU funded water pipelines being dug up to turn them into rockets.

Recognising this, Israel has supplied the Strip with electricity and water for over a decade – in the absence of Hamas initiatives to establish independent facilities.

Discussions with leaders across the globe have also been ongoing, as the UK Government works to ensure that the world speaks with one voice in opposition to these brutal attacks.

The Prime Minister has already issued a joint statement with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United States, to express the UK’s coordinated and united support for Israel with these allies, and ultimately, a joint commitment to setting the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East.

The Foreign Secretary has also spoken with the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, and with the Foreign Ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Oman and Qatar, to encourage them to help reduce tensions.

Sadly, in Britain, our Jewish communities have faced a major spike of antisemitism, which has increased by over 300 per cent since this conflict began.

The Jewish community in Greater Manchester is the second largest in the UK, and it is always completely unacceptable to hold British Jews responsible or accountable for the actions of Israel, and I stand with them at this difficult time.