I have received a huge number of emails calling for me to support a Ceasefire in Gaza.
Today, MPs voted on whether to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. It was a simple moral choice: do you support the indiscriminate killing of human beings, or do you want to stop the further loss of life?
In the aftermath of horror, we need voices for peace and diplomacy. Instead, our government has given the green light to unconscionable death and destruction.
I condemn the targeting of all civilian life. That includes the deplorable acts of terror by Hamas against Israeli civilians. And that includes acts of terror by the Israeli government against Palestinian civilians. More than 11,000 people in Gaza have now been killed, almost half of whom are children. Thousands more may be trapped under rubble. Over 1.5 million Palestinians have been displaced.
Without a peaceful and political solution, this cycle of violence will go on and on. It is the responsibility of members of Parliament to demand an end to the ongoing loss of life. We cannot become distracted from the urgent and overriding goal: to bring about freedom, justice and peace for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Every day, every hour and every minute that the bombing is allowed to continue, we lose more of our common humanity.
I voted for a ceasefire today, and I will continue to demand the release of hostages, an end to the siege of Gaza, and an end to the occupation of Palestine. And I will continue to urge colleagues to do the same.
