Israel/Gaza

Baroness Sheehan Excerpts

Tuesday 24th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sheehan (LD)]

Salaam alaikum. My Lords, I was in my early teens in a classroom when I learned of the horrors that Jewish people had suffered during the Second World War. I remember the moment well. What made a deep impression was the realisation that it was not ancient history; that it had happened only a few short years before, and that there were people alive who had endured the Holocaust, and people alive who had perpetrated it: 6 million innocent people murdered because they were born Jewish. I abhor cruelty and injustice, and my heart bled for the Jewish people.

Today, I condemn unreservedly Hamas’s vicious attack on unarmed civilians on 7 October and the taking of hostages. Both are war crimes committed by a proscribed terrorist organisation. Anguish and trauma in Israel are all-consuming, and action to punish the perpetrators is Israel’s right; but further war crimes and the contravening of international humanitarian law can never be the answer—not for a democratic country with principles and values rooted in the rule of law.

Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator, has stated:

“The parties’ actions and rhetoric over the past few days are extremely alarming and unacceptable. Even wars have rules, and these rules must be upheld, at all times, and by all sides”.


According to the Rome statute, the forcible transfer of Palestinians from northern Gaza in readiness for an Israeli ground invasion is a crime against humanity. Palestinians are suffering the bombing of civilian targets such as schools, water installations and hospitals.

The British Government expressed their support for the complete siege of Gaza: no electricity, no food, no water and no fuel, as announced by the Israeli Defense Minister. I think that was an aberration. I hope so. I hope that our Government will support instead the call from the 12 major aid agencies for an end to the total siege and allow unfettered humanitarian access. The 50 trucks currently allowed in amount to no more than a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of trucks a day needed.

The Israeli Defense Minister, in announcing the siege, spoke of

“fighting human animals and we act accordingly”.

Those words sent a chill through my veins. Can the Minister say whether our Government are making it plain that there will be a distinction between Hamas militants—terrorists—and civilians, and that it is not acceptable to use language that dehumanises Palestinians?

There is a real risk that the war in Gaza will spread. Israeli settlers in the West Bank are being given additional weapons and are using them to murder unarmed Palestinians. I ask the Minister what efforts the UK Government are making to avoid an escalation of this war in the West Bank, as well as further in the region. We know from history that other intractable problems, such as those in Northern Ireland and apartheid in South Africa, were ultimately solved only by sworn enemies taking a seat at the negotiating table. Does the Minister agree that the starting point must be a full independent international inquiry, followed by a process of accountability for all parties, with full access to the Gaza strip and Israel, so that those responsible for crimes can be held accountable?

I draw attention to a widely respected movement called Women Wage Peace, a coalition of Jewish and Arab women working towards the peaceful and secure co-existence of Israelis and Palestinians. I should like to read from their position paper released on 15 October this year:

“This war proves, more than ever, that the concept of ‘managing the conflict’ failed … We must turn every stone in order to reach a political solution … The Palestinian people will not disappear, nor will we … All conflicts in the world have been resolved by peace agreements … Hamas has already managed to destroy the negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Hamas must not be allowed to win! We know these words sound imaginary, naive and unrealistic, but this is the truth, and we must recognize it. Every mother, Jewish and Arab, gives birth to her children to see them grow and flourish and not to bury them”.


I finish with the word of the released hostage Yocheved Lifschitz to her masked Hamas captor: shalom.