I share the general dismay at the tragic loss of life in Gaza, which is a deeply concerning escalation in violence. However, the UNHRC inquiry failed to examine the Hamas terror group's involvement in the riots and for that reason the UK Government declined to support the subsequent report.
Hamas's exploitation of a legitimate protest to further its well-documented violent intentions towards Israeli citizens is abhorrent. The terror group, which controls Gaza, encouraged riots and infiltration attempts into Israel, knowingly and deliberately putting Gazans in harm's way. Social media was also used to encourage protestors to bring weapons hidden beneath their clothes. Hamas Prime Minister Yahya Sinwar described the stated aim of the attempts to breach the border as follows: "We will take down the border and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies".
The UNHRC report also neglected to note that in the first instance, Israeli soldiers used non-lethal crowd dispersal measures, with strict orders that they were only allowed to use live fire if their lives were in danger; if they saw critical border security infrastructure being damaged; or if they identified main instigators or a rush by a number of people towards the border.
Last Friday, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UNHRC explained the UK's decision to abstain on a vote to adopt the report in question by stating that Hamas bear "principal responsibility as their operatives have cynically exploited the protests". The UK Government has also made clear that the presence of a dedicated agenda item concerning Israel in every UNHRC session amounts to "systemic institutional bias" and is an "impediment to dialogue" between Israel and the Palestinians.
I am also deeply concerned about the increase in indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel from Gaza. On Monday, a long-range Hamas missile destroyed a home in central Israel, wounding seven members of the Wolf family who are originally from London, including a 12-year-old girl, a 3-year-old boy and a 6 month old baby. Over 60 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel this week, and Israel struck dozens of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip in response to the rocket fire. I am extremely disturbed by reports that Hamas is planning a 'million man march' to mark the one year anniversary of the border protests. It is also gravely concerning that the terror group violently suppressed protest movements in Gaza itself last week.
An arms embargo on Israel and the wider boycott campaign stands to be damaging for both us and Israel.
What is clear, above all, is that the need for a renewed peace process is more urgent than ever. I remain committed to a two-state solution through direct negotiations, and all parties involved as well as the international community must step up efforts without delay.I am afraid, though, that until Hamas seeks peace instead of terror, there can be no progress towards a peace resolution with Israel.
