‘Don’t argue over Israel’ Eylon Levy urges UK Jewish community

“But don’t let that argument obscure the fundamental fact that the reason that there are hostages in Gaza is that their kidnappers will not let them go, that [Hamas is keeping them] as insurance to survive the war that they started and make sure that they are free to invade Israeli homes again, steal more children from their beds again and use them as insurance again to survive the next war.”

Levy slammed the UK government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly if Israel doesn’t agree to a ceasefire, saying that it gave Hamas “an incentive to keep holding on to the hostages”.

He told his audience: “You need to grab your leaders by the shoulders and make them understand that their actions make a difference to Hamas’ incentives. And [the UK government] needs to stop giving Hamas reasons to hold on to the hostages and start giving Hamas reasons to give them back and to relinquish power, lay down their weapons, so they never take more hostages and are never free to drag the Middle East into another horrible war ever again.”

Levy pointed out that Hamas was state sponsored by Qatar, “which owns half of Britain”, adding that on October 7, the Arab nation “while the massacre was ongoing…said that Israel was solely responsible for the escalation. Qatar that has been telling Hamas to keep the hostages until it gets a ransom that leaves it in power to perpetrate the next atrocity.”

Levy said UK government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly if Israel doesn’t agree to a ceasefire gave Hamas ‘an incentive to keep holding on to the hostages’

Levy paid tribute to the Finchley demonstrators, saying their weekly vigils not only strengthened the hostages’ families and friends in Israel but gave “strength and dignity to Jewish people around the world… whose dignity has been defaced by the hate movement ripping down posters, denying that there are hostages”.

“Since October 7, we have seen an extraordinary, great diaspora awakening, a resurgence of that sense of mutual responsibility as Jewish communities from around the world have come together to fight for what is a basic humanitarian cause – the release of the hostages.”

The vigil, which also included a speech from Ida Symons from Technion UK, came less than a day after the second hostage whose body was recovered by the IDF from Gaza was identified as Idan Shtivi, 28. He was murdered by Hamas on October 7 after rescuing and evacuating other festivalgoers from Nova. On Friday, the other hostage whose body was recovered by the IDF was identified as Ilan Weiss, who was murdered by Hamas while defending Kibbutz Be’eri.

Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, of whom around 20 are believed to be alive.

Protesters lift a large banner in Hostage Square during a demonstration organised by the families of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip, to call for their release and for a ceasefire (Photo: Getty)AFP via Getty Images

Yesterday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv to mark one year since the murder of six hostages, Alexander Lobanov, Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi and Almog Sarusi, by Hamas terrorists.

Demonstrators in Hostage Square demanded the government reach a ceasefire deal to ensure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, with organisers the Hostages and Missing Families Forum saying: “This nightmare must end! For 692 days, our loved ones have endured hell, and we as a nation have lost all sense of direction.

“Escalating military pressure means abandoning the living hostages to their fate and leaving the bodies of those already dead buried forever in Gaza’s rubble.”