We hear daily of the toll of civilian dead and injured in the most tragic of circumstances. Whole families wiped out. Innocent people. Hospitals and refugee camps being bombed and drones used to carry out random indiscriminate shootings that kill and maim. The starving population is being herded from pillar to post, while the systematic demolition of whole neighbourhoods is now underway in preparation for the next horror. Aid is being blocked and what little that is getting through is being distributed through a few centres based in militarised zones, resulting in panic and chaos and further loss of life. It is inhumane and catastrophic.

Then we have the so called Humanitarian City, that is being planned and would be built in southern Gaza on the ruins of Rafah. It has quite rightly been condemned by many including Israel’s ex Prime Minister (Ehud Olmert), as it would in reality be a concentration camp and amount to ethnic cleansing.

The state of Israel is responsible for all of this. It is committing War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity. Yet what is the world doing to stop it?

There is much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands and political tut-tutting, but very little real action.

And lets be clear, it is not antisemitic to condemn the acts of hate and barbarism of this Israeli government. To quote a Jewish journalist, Antony Loewenstein, “Judaism is not Zionism, and those who argue they are one and the same are being fundamentally dishonest”.

What happened on Oct 7 2023 was an unforgivable atrocity. However, it does not remotely justify what is now happening in Gaza

The government of Israel is in the grip of a form of messianic extremism that believes it has biblical rights over the Land of Israel. For over 100 years, from before the Balfour Declaration of 1917, through to today, Zionism has sought to create a theocratic state that excludes or minimises the number of Arabs within its borders.

Israel’s continued illegal occupation and building of large settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, together with its continuous harassment of the local Palestinian populations is why Hamas exists. That is not to condone or support Hamas, just a simple recognition of an undeniable fact. It should also be noted that the Israeli government of the 1970's supported Hamas as a way of weakening the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). It is a direct consequence of that deluded politics that allowed Hamas to grow in strength and to ultimately take over Gaza in 2007.

At the same time, the settlers were moving in. It started after the 6-Day War in 1967 and now approximately 10 percent of Israel’s 7 million population live in the 150 settlements and 128 outposts in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Palestinians have been displaced, their lands stolen and their movement restricted by checkpoints and the infamous Separation Wall. The government of Israel continues to supported and encouraged the settlements despite repeated condemnation by the UN, and has little regard for any and all past agreements. The Oslo Accords, a beacon of hope in 1993, were trampled into the dust by Netanyahu after his election in 1996, and since his re-election in 2009 all attempts to broker peace by others have failed. And then Trump lumbers onto the scene ...

The disgraceful attack on Oct 7 has provided the perfect excuse to unleash sickening violence on the Palestinian peoples in Gaza and its supporters across the region. The claim that Israel has a right to defend itself only has credibility when it ceases to be the provocateur. Declarations by the PLO and Hamas that Israel has no right to exist and "from the river to the sea" are the result. Both have since pulled back from this position.

The politics of the region are undoubtedly complex and there are many competing interests between states, the Sunii-Shia divide and other factors. However, this Israeli government’s Zionist ambitions are the most toxic poison in the well, and peace will only happen once it is brought to heel by the international community… and it is probably the only way the remaining hostages will come home alive.

Until Israel withdraws from Gaza, the UK government must:

1. Immediately stop all arms deliveries to Israel. They amount to just 1% of Israel’s arms imports, but nonetheless, it is utterly immoral to be supporting the current government of Israel in any way.

2. Work with other countries that arm Israel, especially Germany, India and the US, to get them to take a similar stand. India is the source of many of the drones, and we have just signed a trade deal with India. Use that influence.

3. Require companies like BAE Systems, a British company but multinational, to stop supplying systems and parts to Israel.

4. Formally recognise the State of Palestine as defined by the UN, which includes Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Norway, Ireland and Spain did so some 12 months ago, joining 8 other EU states. Across the world 147 of the 193 UN member states recognise the State of Palestine.

5. Freeze all UK based Israeli assets.

6. Consider further sanctions with EU and other partners.

7. Be part of a negotiated settlement. Do no leave it to the US. The British have a long involvement and no small amount of culpability going back to the Mandatory Palestine of 1920.

As an elected member of a Local Authority I am appealing to all Local Authorities to fly the Palestinian Flag (alongside the Ukrainian Flag) as a demonstration of solidarity with both, and to lobby central government to take real effective action against the grotesque inhumanity of the Israeli government against Palestinians and their supporters.

Brexit was a venal lie, but it was meant to give us sovereignty and choices. We now have a choice. Lets choose not to be a vassal of the US madness, but ally ourselves with the Palestinian people and their desperate suffering... and do everything we can to make it stop.