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The horrific war in Gaza was once again a hot topic at the January meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. Two councilors spoke of their outrage at a letter received by Council from the British Government in reply to correspondence from Council, following the passing of a motion at the November 2023 Council meeting entitled 'Violence in Gaza and Southern Israel'.
In the letter dated 8 December Lord (Tariq) Ahman of Wimbledon, Minister of State said "The UK supports Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism in line with international humanitarian law"
Gaslighting
Newry City Councillor Cathal King said "reading through the response you're thinking to yourself, how someone can put pen to paper and has the stomach to address the letter about the current situation and still use the phrase that Israel has a right to defend itself, when over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed mostly women and children. The British, the Americans, the EU, they all have it within their power to say to Israel stop, achieve a ceasefire and bring stability to the region. I even the correspondence mentions that objective, yet here we are within the last 24 hours, 111 people killed and 250 wounded. This sort of gaslighting is not surprising.
Cllr King added "The people of Newry and across the island see things for what it is and will be on the right side of history calling for peace and an urgent ceasefire."
Sick to the stomach
Slieve Gullion Councillor Pete Byrne said "We articulated the motion in terms of 'all killings' right across the region in southern Israel and in Gaza and for a UK Minister to write back by talking about, first of all I have to outline that he does acknowledge the human tragedy in the Middle East. But that's as far as he goes by addressing both sides of it. No steps to stop it, just support for the Palestinian Authority, which is not in Gaza, condemns Hamas, the attacks carried out by Hamas, but doesn't condemn Israel for the continuous rockets fired for the last three months and nearly 23,000 people slaughtered. Talks consistently through the letter of Israel's right to defend itself, and along with Cathal King in his comments, I am sick to the stomach of hearing that statement. Israel's right to defend itself. Every human and every state has a right to defend itself. Not once in the letter from the Minister does he talk about the Gazon's right to defend themselves or the Palestinians right to defend themselves or the people's right in the West Bank to defend themselves."
Cllr Byrne continued "We are throwing £30 million extra for aid and we bomb it on its way in. £30m is pennies when you turn your back and close your eyes to 10's of billions of arms going into the region to continue slaughtering these innocent people.
The Slieve Gullion representative added that he would love to write back to the Minister but that it would be a waste of time "Israel has a right to protect civilians. I said it at the start - Do Palestinians not. I would love to write back to the UK Government to pose these questions. These are the questions that we had in our original motion"
President Biden - 'Shame on Him'
Cllr Byrne concluded "I watched when President Biden came over to Ireland for his Irish visit, thought it was fantastic. Going round, the Irish blood and the lineage through the American Presidents in this land, and I was quite proud. And he talked about how he will take home from his visit to Ireland, the message of peace, how we can work together, and how we brought peace on this island by working hand in hand, and that's a message that the whole world should learn from.
Flies back to the States and arms, the Israeli state with billions of arms to slaughter 23,000 innocent people. How on earth did he hear the message when he came to Ireland. He completely forgot it when he went over there. And I think it's an absolute shame that he used those words on this island. Shame on him."
Letter from Lord (Tariq) Ahman of Wimbledon, Minister of State (in full)
Dear Marie Ward,
Thank you for your letter of 13 November to the Prime about the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). I am replying as the Minister of State for the Middle East.
A human tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East. Israel has suffered the worst terror attack in its history and Palestinian civilians in Gaza are suffering a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. The UK condemns the terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli and international citizens. Hamas neither speaks for nor acts in the interests of the Palestinian people. Together with the US, the UK has targeted Hamas with a new set of sanctions in an effort to disrupt the group's acts of terror. We must work with our allies to provide serious, practical and enduring support needed to bolster the Palestinian Authority, because they are the best route to sweep away the terrible scourge of Hamas and all it has wrought.
The UK supports Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism in line with international humanitarian law. We have pressed Israel to ensure its campaign is targeted against Hamas leaders and military infrastructure; to allow aid to enter Gaza; to end settler violence and hold perpetrators to account; and to work with the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to improve the desperate humanitarian situation. It is vital that all parties ensure that their actions are proportionate, necessary and minimise harm to civilians.
From the start we have said that we want British nationals to be able to leave Gaza and for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza. We welcomed the recent truce in fighting as an opportunity to get hostages out and will continue to get aid into Gaza on a sustained basis now that the truce has ended. We want to see all hostages released. We continue to press - both at the UN and directly with Israel - for unhindered humanitarian access and substantive, repeated humanitarian agreements that will allow aid to enter and British nationals to leave. We have announced a further £30 million in lifesaving humanitarian aid for people in Gaza. The aid will go to trusted partners including UN agencies on the ground. This brings the total additional UK aid for Palestinian civilians to over £60 million since the crisis started in October.
To prevent further conflict and terrorism, there must be a lasting political solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: a two-state solution which provides peace, justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. The UK will work urgently with our partners to ensure this vision finally becomes a reality. We are also urging all sides to de-escalate tension in the West Bank and tackle all forms of extremism. We will oppose any attempts by malign actors to cause further escalation in the region.
As the Prime Minister has said, we are investing more deeply in regional stability and in the two-state solution. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and I have spoken, crucially, to counterparts across the region to underline the need to work together and avoid any further spread of conflict. This includes the King of Jordan, the President of Egypt, the Prime Minister of Israel, Palestinian Authority President Abbas, the President of Turkey, the Amir of Qatar, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the UN Secretary General. The Foreign Secretary has spoken separately with the Israeli Foreign Minister, the Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State; both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary had further meetings with regional counterparts at COP 28 in Dubai at the end of November.
On 22 November, the Foreign Secretary and I hosted a meeting of Foreign Ministers from five Arabic and Islamic countries in London. The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 22-24 November during which he reiterated the UK's support for Israel to defend itself against Hamas in line with International Humanitarian Law; the urgent need for further humanitarian aid to get into Gaza; and engaged on further acute issues such as the hostage situation in Gaza and rising tensions in the West Bank. During his visit he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, as well as other Israeli ministers. The Foreign Secretary also visited Ramallah in the Occupied Palestinian Territories where he met Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, with whom he discussed the UK's continued support for the Palestinian Authority and a two-state solution.
I spoke to the UN General Assembly in New York in October and delivered the UK intervention at a Security Council meeting on Gaza on 29 November, when I called for humanitarian pauses to get hostages out and aid in and set out our engagement to push for: a scaled up humanitarian response, progress on a two-state solution and meaningful action on settler violence. I have met or spoken to representatives from the UN, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, the Palestinian Authority, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain and Lebanon. I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 1-2 November, Qatar on 18-19 November; and had further meetings with Arab countries and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in New York on 29 November. In all our engagements with Israeli counterparts we have underscored the UK's firm belief in Israel's right to self-defence in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. Israel has a duty to protect civilians and we have called on Israel to take every possible precaution in this respect. Our position on international law is unwavering. We continue to make clear to all parties that all possible measures must be taken to ensure civilian casulties are minimised and to facilitate humanitarian aid to the civilians in Gaza. The PRime Minister has raised directly with his Israeli counterparts the need to act in line with International Humanitarian Law. Israeli President Herzog has also said Israel will abide by international law.
Peace, Security and stability for Israelis and Palestinians alike can only be achieved through a collaborative and concerted effort towards a two-state solution; a secure Israel, living side by side with and independent, secure and viable Palestinian stage.
