Backbench Conservative MP Miriam Cates told the Commons that the war in Gaza was “devastating, tragic, appalling” but also “unavoidable because of the Oct 7 massacre”.
Ms Cates said: “There simply is no other way to keep Israelis safe than to destroy Hamas. We might wish it was otherwise but this is the reality of the situation. We are all appalled by the losses of life, both in Israel and Gaza.
“To call for an unconditional ceasefire now shows I’m afraid a naive judgment of the situation on the ground. There is no moral equivalence to a bunch of murderous terrorists and rapists, attacking civilians with glee for the sole purpose of inflicting evil, and a nation state using conventional forces to root out a dangerous enemy, however much we may criticise their tactics. For Hamas the civilian deaths, including those of Palestinians, are the point.”
Ms Cates added that Hamas “bears responsibility for all deaths in this conflict”, adding: “I would ask those who are calling for an unconditional ceasefire now, do they not want Hamas to be destroyed? Why aren’t they calling for unconditional ceasefires in other conflicts?
“I’m afraid to say Benjamin Netanyahu is not listening to this debate, it will not change the outcome on the ground. Now I do understand that MPs are facing extreme pressure, they’re facing threats and I feel particularly for colleagues on the other side of the House, but we can’t allow those threats to influence our democracy, to influence our speech in here…
“Those demanding a ceasefire tonight will not stop at that. They will call for boycotts of Israel, an arms embargo… Yet again, Israel is being singled out as the world’s only Jewish state, it’s being exceptionalised, we’re seeing the rise of anti-Semitism here on the streets of the UK. We cannot afford to give into that pressure, we must respect Israel’s right to defend itself and prevent the most atrocious crimes that have ever happened in my lifetime from ever happening again.”
