mr president i wish to begin by expressing my deepest sympathy for all the innocent people both in israel and in gaza who have suffered in recent weeks and months as conflict rages
but we need to take care that our natural humanity our very justified concerns do not distort our view of the true nature of the situation that we are dealing with
in gaza hamas has created a terrorist fiefdom it tolerates no opposition to its views it has murdered those palestinians who opposed it it has split the palestine authority it refused to stop terror attacks on israeli civilians it refused to recognise the right of israel to exist it refused to acknowledge the peace agreements previously negotiated
i recall the words of hanan ashrawi three years ago when i was monitoring the palestinian elections
she foresaw the imposition of rule by the forces of darkness how right she was we should not be surprised that a hamas mp should take pride in stating that death was an industry for the palestinian people
he was referring to the use of suicide bombers and the deliberate use of civilian human shields to protect potential military targets
it is of course a direct contravention of international humanitarian law to use civilians in this way
faced with such an intractable callous and hateful enemy what do we expect israel to do while its citizens are constantly subjected to terror attacks
the international community took little notice
when israel took non-violent action such as imposing blockades or cutting electricity it was castigated
now that it has taken military action in reaction to hamas provocation it feels the weight of international disapproval
the sad reality is that the palestinian people have been atrociously served over many years by those who have control over palestine authority areas by the international community which has tolerated extremism and corruption and by the arab world which has done nothing practical over many decades to improve their lives or prospects
we need a marshall plan for the middle east
it is not just peacekeepers that the palestinians need but a decent civil administration free from corruption
the civil administration needs to be put under international control but first of all the terrorist lifeline weapons monies and political indulgence must be cut
