Commenting on the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Sir Menzies Campbell MP said:
“This latest situation in Gaza and the West Bank is extremely alarming yet not entirely surprising. The aggression between the two sides has been raging for the past 60 years and there is no clear end in sight.
“The lack of decisive action from Governments and International Organisations such as the UN has only acted to compound the issue and America’s uncritical attitude towards Israel’s actions has not helped.
“Israel’s overwhelming use of force which results in the tragic loss of civilian lives is acting to radicalise opinion among Palestinians and indeed throughout the Arab world.
“Israel clearly has the right to defend itself from attack, but bombing alone has never resulted in the defeat of a terrorist organisation.
“By no means should Hamas escape condemnation and blame, but the only way to resolve these matters is through diplomacy and negotiation.”
ENDS
Dear Mr. Campbell ,
I think it is right that the two sides seem irrevocably polarised .This does beg the question was Israel located in the wrong place ?.The Biblical Promised land existed in a different world from the modern Muslim Middle East .Imposing Israel on such a fought over area of the world was asking for trouble .It was never going to be easy imposing a new country on a world of existing nations in the 1940’s as history has since demonstrated repeatedly .Justifying Israel’s existence because of the Holocaust now just seems hollow .The real culprits of course are the arms manufacturers ,making billions from mainly civilian blood and filling national treasuries with taxes .It seems unlikely that Israeli and Arab arrogance will condescend to sit round the negotiating table .Today a little Palestinian boy ,able to speak now the Israelis have done their dirty work of pulverising Palestine with the media excluded ,said that his uncle and cousing were killed by Israelis pumping poison gas into their hiding place .Sounds like Auschwitz to me .