“Prime Minister,
thank you for your warm words and for welcoming me to Israel. I
am just sorry to be here in such terrible circumstances.
“In the last two weeks, this
country has gone through something that no country, no people,
should have to endure.
“Least of all Israel, which has
lived through some of the most awful scenes, the spectre of
violence and terrorism every day of its
existence.
“I want to share the deep
condolences of the British people, and stress that we absolutely
support Israel's right to defend itself in line with
international law, to go after Hamas, to take back hostages,
deter further incursions and to strengthen your security for the
long-term.
“Now I know that you are taking
every precaution to avoid harming civilians, in direct contrast
to the terrorists of Hamas, which seek to put civilians in harm's
way.
“But I also want to thank you for
the support that your government has given to the families of
British nationals caught up in this horror, including your
efforts to secure the release of hostages, and I know that we
will continue to cooperate, particularly with regard to the
British nationals that are involved.
“Can I also say that we have seen
scenes over the past day that have shocked all of us,
particularly at the hospital, and we mourn the loss of every
innocent life, civilians of every faith and every nationality who
have been killed.
“We also recognise that the
Palestinian people are victims of Hamas too, and that is why I
welcome your decision yesterday that you took to ensure that
routes into Gaza will be opened for humanitarian aid to
enter.
“I am glad that you made that
decision; we will support it, we are increasing our aid to the
region, and we will look to get more support to people as quickly
as we can.
“The last thing for me to close on
is this: you describe this as Israel’s darkest hour, well then
it’s for me to say that I am proud to stand here with you in
Israel’s darkest hour as your friend, who will stand with you in
solidarity, who will stand with your people, and we also want you
to win.”
