Israel/Gaza

Lord Polak Excerpts

Tuesday 24th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Polak (Con)]

My Lords, I refer to my registered interest as president of Conservative Friends of Israel and director of the Abraham Accords Group. It is a pleasure, as always, to follow the noble Lord, Lord Austin. I also pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Stevens of Birmingham, for his moral clarity.

I was in Jerusalem on 7 October. The right reverend Prelate the Archbishop of Canterbury talked about pride. I was proud the next day when I saw Downing Street with the flag of Israel, followed by the Foreign Office with the colours of Israel. Nobody should underestimate what that meant to the people of Israel, who were just coming to terms with and learning what had gone on in the south. I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary for their steadfast and careful approach.

However, that careful approach is in stark contrast to some elements of the media who, on occasions, seem to take sides with devastating effect. The noble Lord, Lord Palmer, in particular, spoke about the hospital. I had my phone on just now, because I clicked on the BBC World Service, which has 5.3 million views, and it is still saying that Israel did the bomb the hospital. I could not believe that it is still there. It is on the BBC World Service; any noble Lord can click on it.

On Tuesday 17 October, I was at home watching Sky News as the story of the explosion at the hospital emerged. Anna Botting’s questioning of Mark Regev was deeply troubling. She even used the words, about President Biden’s forthcoming visit the next day to Jerusalem—I watched it again today—“It’s best he doesn’t come”. This was a Sky News presenter making that comment. It was outrageous. Like others, she had taken the words of Hamas propaganda as if it were the truth. As I said last night in this Chamber, the negative effect of broadcasters sharing lies was devastating across the region and across the world—some parliamentarians were a little too trigger happy also.

I agree with the many who are looking for that flicker of light in the darkness—the building up of the Abraham accords; the building up of peace between Israel and Jordan, and Israel and Egypt. All of that should be encouraging the Palestinians to join the Abraham accords, and we should all agree to that long sought-after two-state solution.

While we focus on the hostages—it is right that we focus on the hostages; they have to be returned—we should not forget the devastation to the families of 1,400 butchered innocent men, women and children. It is important to name them. There is one hostage in particular I would like to talk about this evening: Ohad Munder-Zichri. He turned nine years old yesterday, but rather than celebrating his birthday at home with his loved ones, he is currently being held hostage in Gaza, among the 200 other individuals. Ohad has been described as a gifted student, with exceptional abilities, encompassing various fields including sport and chess, and a remarkable skill on the Rubik’s cube. Like my noble friend the Minister and myself, he is an avid Liverpool football fan. I have a picture of him here, with his Mo Salah kit on—a nine year-old child. At home, his bedroom has been left untouched since his abduction; his shelves are filled with team souvenirs, his trophies and his family photos. Back on my phone, I clicked on Mo Salah, because Ohad is wearing his Mo Salah kit. Mo Salah spoke last week about this tragedy. He said, rightly, that all lives are sacred. That has had 176 million views—much more than any of us could imagine for anything we are doing. This is important. I urge my noble friend the Minister, who as I have said is a Liverpool fan too, to urge people like Mo Salah to continue to raise humanitarian issues.

Last week, I mentioned Ada Sagi. It is hard to contemplate that, since I did, that poor 75 year-old lady has spent another painful 192 hours in captivity—we do not know where. The agony for her son, Noam, and daughter-in-law, Michal, is beyond comprehension. All hostages must be released. I urge my noble friend the Minister to redouble efforts with Qatar, Egypt and the Red Cross, and with anyone else who can help.