Carla Lockhart MP said:

“Once more the Prime Minister has planted himself firmly on the wrong side of history. He was wrong on Rayner, wrong on Mandelson, wrong on legacy, and now, disastrously, wrong on Palestine.

Recognising a so-called ‘government’ that refuses to confront the terrorists of Hamas, that cannot feed or protect its own people, and that rules through fear rather than consent, is not progress, it is capitulation. In no other democratic society would the most recent elections be 20 years ago!

Any leverage or influence the Prime Minister may have had to secure the release of Israeli prisoners has been given away.

This country has poured millions of pounds into aid for the Palestinian territories. Yet while ordinary families remain in poverty, Hamas has diverted resources into tunnels, weapons, and repression, turning its fury not only on Israel but on its own citizens. The victims are as likely to be Palestinian as Israeli.

Even Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, keeps its frontier tightly sealed. Why? Because Cairo knows full well what Hamas represents. The Palestinian Authority has failed to confront Hamas and has allowed them free rein in many areas. Egypt wants peace within its own borders, not the export of terror.

Many Palestinians would undoubtedly live in peace with their Israeli neighbours. But they are silenced by a regime that tolerates no dissent, no opposition, no minority rights. This is not a democracy. Yet Britain has recognised it without securing a single safeguard for hostages, for Christians, for vulnerable communities. Nothing.

The reality is stark: if Hamas, Hezbollah and those of similar ilk laid down their weapons, peace would be within reach. If Israel laid down hers, she would be obliterated. That is the brutal truth. The aim of these people is not peace; it is the eradication of Israel.

Now more than ever our country should be standing with Israel, its right to defend itself, and the Jewish people and their families brought home from captivity.

We failed them and history will not judge these actions kindly.”