Like so many others, I am deeply distressed by the unyielding violence and intolerable loss of innocent life both in Palestine and in Israel.

We all want to see an enduring cessation of fighting as quickly as possible.

Every heart-breaking story, every abhorrent image of death and destruction is a sobering reminder that the long-term security of Israel and justice for Palestine cannot be delivered by bombs and bullets.

Last night I voted for Labour’s amendment to the King’s Speech. I have included a full copy of the amendment at the end of this post, but it might be helpful for me outline what our amendment included:

1. Cessation of fighting: Calls for longer humanitarian pauses to allow in aid and the movement of civilians as a necessary step to an enduring cessation of fighting as soon as possible.
2. End to the violence: Wishes to see an end to the violence in Israel and Palestine.
3. Condemn the attacks: Condemns the horrific terrorist attack and murder of civilians by Hamas
4. Release the hostages: Calls for the immediate release of all hostages.
5. All human life is equal: Asserts that all human life is equal and that there has been too much suffering, including far too many deaths of innocent civilians and children.
6. Respect international law: Reasserts the UK’s commitment to the rules-based international order, international humanitarian law and the jurisdiction of the ICC to address the conduct of all parties.
7. Lift the siege: Calls on Israel to protect hospitals and lift the siege conditions allowing food, water, electricity, medicine and fuel into Gaza.
8. Prevent escalation: Requests the UK Government continues to work with the international community to prevent a wider escalation of the conflict in the region.
9. Right to return home: Ensures people in Gaza who are forced to flee during this conflict can return to their homes.
10. End illegal settlement expansion: Seeks an end to the expansion of illegal settlements and settler violence in the West Bank.
11. Two-state solution: Seeks a credible, diplomatic and political process to deliver the lasting peace of a two-state solution.

In recent weeks I have heard from so many constituents crying out for peace in the Middle East. I completely share the desperation for an end to the violence. For far too long, the complex tensions in the region have been put in the ‘too difficult’ box, leaving events to spiral while innocent people suffer.

After decades of neglect, it is now more important than ever that the international community throws its collective weight behind the long-term solutions for lasting peace in the best interest of both Palestinians and Israelis.

It is the primary responsibility of all governments to ensure its people are safe. This is what we all expect. I unequivocally condemn Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack of 7 October, in which more than 1,000 innocent Israelis were murdered. The more than 200 hostages who continue to be held in Gaza must also be unconditionally released.

But the right to self-defence is not a blank cheque. Israel must follow international law. The killing of more than 11,000 Palestinian civilians and countless hospitals destroyed is intolerable – one innocent life lost is too many. The Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy MP, has robustly backed the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in this conflict to hold both sides to account.

The growing international consensus achieving some initial progress towards the alleviation of suffering in Gaza must be seized upon. Though they won’t on their own bring an end to this crisis, any opportunity to deliver the provision of aid, release of hostages and give space for basic humanity must be taken.

Labour has done all it can to urge the UK Government to press urgently for Israel to lift the unacceptable siege conditions imposed on the innocent people of Gaza. Hospitals need rebuilding, pipelines restored, and only an immediate, longer and sustained pause can achieve that.

The desperate desire for peace will burn greatest among the families brutally and irreparably torn apart by this conflict. It is to them that we as politicians around the world owe our collective energy to deliver an end to this crisis.

This decades-old conflict cannot be solved through violence. This why Labour continues to stand firmly behind those critical first steps necessary to enable a political solution, a two-state solution – a solution in which a safe and secure Israel can co-exist peacefully alongside a sovereign Palestine.

This will be a priority for a future Labour government, just as the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland was before.

I do not underestimate the strength of feeling among constituents surrounding these events. I share your heartbreak. Over the past month, I have listened to people right across our Newport East community, of all faiths and none. I hear your concerns, and I will continue to listen to them all.

Amendment (r)

At end add ‘and submit to Your Majesty that this House wishes to see an end to the violence in Israel and Palestine; unequivocally condemn the horrific terrorist attack and murder of civilians by Hamas, call for the immediate release of all hostages and reaffirm Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorism; believe all human life is equal and that there has been too much suffering, including far too many deaths of innocent civilians and children, over the past month in Gaza; reaffirm the UK’s commitment to the rules-based international order, international humanitarian law and the jurisdiction of the ICC to address the conduct of all parties in Gaza and Hamas’s attacks in Israel; call on Israel to protect hospitals and lift the siege conditions allowing food, water, electricity, medicine and fuel into Gaza; request the Government continue to work with the international community to prevent a wider escalation of the conflict in the region, guarantee that people in Gaza who are forced to flee during this conflict can return to their homes and seek an end to the expansion of illegal settlements and settler violence in the West Bank; and, while acknowledging the daily humanitarian pauses to allow in aid and the movement of civilians, believe they must be longer to deliver humanitarian assistance on a scale that begins to meet the desperate needs of the people of Gaza, which is a necessary step to an enduring cessation of fighting as soon as possible and a credible, diplomatic and political process to deliver the lasting peace of a two-state solution.’