As Israel and the world remember the carnage of the October 7 terrorist attacks that took place one year ago today, the British government has once again impressed on Israel that London wants a ceasefire in the Middle East.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed his condolences to the people of Israel: statement Marking the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack, he called it “the darkest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.” A year later, “our collective grief has not lessened or diminished,” he said.
The leftist leader also expressed his determination to “bring back those who are still in captivity” and said there was “firm determination”. “We must stand unequivocally on the side of the Jewish community,” he said.
But Mr Starmer had to give way to the sad memories, using a statement reiterating British foreign policy that Israel should stop fighting back against its attackers and agree to a cease-fire. The British Prime Minister said:
And we must not turn a blind eye to the continued dire consequences of this conflict in the Middle East as civilians endure. I reiterate my call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and for the removal of all restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Ironically, the Prime Minister acknowledged that Britain's multicultural society means that “millions of people have family ties” to the Middle East, making it vulnerable to contagious conflict, and that figuratively likened it to spreading like fire. He wrote: newspaper editorial On Sunday morning, it foreshadowed his public statement hours in advance, saying:
Flames from this deadly conflict now threaten to consume the region. And the spark that lights up the touchpaper here in our own communities back home has a deep connection to our multicultural society. Millions of people have family ties to this region.
But for Starmer, this multicultural society, acknowledged to be vulnerable to foreign conflict, remains an absolute good that requires the full support of the law. Careful to place any discussion of attacks on Britain's Jewish community over the past year alongside attacks on Muslims and mosques, he argued: “Any attack on a minority is an attack on our proud values of tolerance and respect. We will not tolerate it.”
Mr Starmer also used the article to call for people to heed pleas for a ceasefire and a “two-state solution”. “A ceasefire in Gaza will also help ease tensions across the region,” he said, adding: “All parties now need to act with restraint and return to a political rather than a military solution.” said. The way forward remains UN Security Council Resolution 1701. ”
Mr Starmer acknowledged that “Iran's support for terrorism and insurgents across the region has long threatened the Middle East,” but he nevertheless opposed direct Israeli action on this, saying, “Iranian and Israeli support for A conflict would have devastating consequences for Iran.” People from the Middle East and around the world. ”
Calls for a ceasefire generally do not go well in Israel, which claims to be protecting its people from attack, and some may see it as bad taste to use the October 7 anniversary to call for another ceasefire. As reported in September, such positions include:
On Saturday's “CNN This Morning,” Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Maj. Doron Szpilman responded to the White House's complaints about Israel over the ceasefire, saying, “For a full year, Hezbollah has fired rockets, more than 9,000 rockets, We launched missiles, we launched killer drones, and no one talked about a ceasefire. Now that Israel is making a point of trying to protect civilians, we're asking for a ceasefire,” he said. Without, [that Israel have] A ceasefire should require Hezbollah to withdraw. ”
