Gaza War
Mr Carroll: Over
the weekend, Iran fired some 300 missiles at Israel, and the
world watched with bated breath as we awaited the outcome of what
could have been a wider confrontation in the Middle East. Today,
I call, loudly and clearly, for a de-escalation of violence but
also for people to reflect on what has brought us to that
point.
For six months now, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza,
the horror of which would have been unimaginable before. Israel
has destroyed hospitals, deliberately murdered children, taken
thousands of hostages and systematically denied people food,
water and medical aid. Israel has killed over 33,000 Palestinians
and committed the most heinous war crimes. In that time, Israel
has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, Iran and Yemen,
with the complete backing of Western imperialists in the US,
Britain and elsewhere.
I have my own view of the Iranian state. I have stood with my
Iranian sisters and brothers here in Belfast under the slogan
"Woman, Life, Freedom", but its actions over the weekend were in
retaliation to Israel's bombing of the Iranian consulate in
Damascus.
What we are seeing started with Israel's genocide in Gaza and
must end with a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel is a rogue state that
has risked a wider regional war with every reckless action that
it has taken. Israel and those who continue to support and arm
it, including the US and Britain, now have to be responsible for
de-escalating the violence. The G7, drawn from the so-called
leaders of the democratic world, was quick to defend Israel and
talked of guaranteeing peace in the region. As those countries'
sophisticated defence systems mopped up Iran's missiles, Israel
continued to bombard Gaza overnight with the very weapons that
they provide.
Their hypocrisy and Israel's unchallenged barbarity make a
mockery of the supposed rules-based international order. Those
people will do anything to protect their interests. We have seen
it in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and across the globe, so it is
up to ordinary people to continue to press home the demands that
can bring about peace: boycotts, divestments and sanctions (BDS)
against Israel; the British and Irish Governments to expel the
Israeli ambassadors; countries to stop arming Israel; and the US
military to get out of Aldergrove and Shannon. The Stormont
Executive must now urgently call for an immediate ceasefire.
Mr Speaker: I call
. You have two minutes, Paul.
Gaza War
Mr Frew: Mr
Speaker, I appreciate that. We are all, I think, horrified at the
escalation of the war in the Middle East, with the recent attack
that Iran has perpetrated on Israeli soil for the first time in
history. We see the horrors that war brings and the innocent
victims who suffer war. However, I want to talk about a group of
people who have been forgotten about: the 129 people who were
lifted from their homes, who witnessed their family being
slaughtered on 7 October and who, to this day, remain captive.
For more than six months, they have been hidden away underground,
in tunnels, with no daylight and very little food, and treated
appallingly.
We all can see and think about six months, but those people — the
Israeli hostages who were taken by Hamas — fight a war of
personal attrition in which they do not know whether they will
stay alive for another hour, when they are going to eat or have a
sup of water or when they are going to receive medical attention,
and they do not know when they are going to be molested again.
Think also of their families who sit at home awaiting the safe
return of those hostages, not knowing whether they will ever see
their loved ones again. Within that number are two babies who
were nine months old on 7 October, and no one knows whether they
are alive or dead.
