The Labour Party leader also reiterated previous calls to “release the hostages” and “surge aid into Gaza”, as well as “a ceasefire that can lead to a lasting and just peace as a step towards a two-state solution. A safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable Palestinian state.”
In a column for the Times, he criticised plans pro-Palestine protests that are set to take place today.
"This is not who we are as a country. It’s un-British to have so little respect for others. And that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred towards Jewish people all over again”, he wrote.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer of rewarding Hamas by recognising a Palestinian state.
Kemi Badenoch speaking at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester (Image: Getty).Getty Images
In a post on social media on the anniversary of the two years since Hamas’ atrocities in southern Israel which started the conflict in Gaza, described by Badenoch as the “barbaric massacre of innocent men, women and children”, she said the terrorist group’s actions were “not just an attack on Israel. It was an attack on humanity, on decency, and on every value we hold dear.”
“Two years on, we must be honest: the same hatred that fuelled the atrocities of October 7 still festers today”, the Tory leader said, adding: “We see it in the so-called ‘protests’ that too often turn into hate marches on our streets.”
“We hear it in chants to ‘globalise the intifada.’ And we saw it again, tragically, in the appalling terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Manchester last week.”
Badenoch then accused the Labour government of effectively rewarding Hamas’ actions on October 7 though the decision to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state.
“It is shameful that in recognising a Palestinian state, the government has rewarded the terrorists that perpetrated the October 7 atrocities. Appeasement does not work”, she added and called for hostages to be returned home and that their continued suffering for two years at the hands of Hamas was a “moral stain on the world’s conscience”.
Starmer’s record in government was also criticised by the leader of Reform UK.
In a column for the JC, Nigel Farage said that: “The decision by this government to recognise Palestine as a state was nothing less than a reward for the atrocities that took place on October 7, 2023.”
He continued: “I fear that it has emboldened the hate marches that we see throughout our capital on such a regular basis. This permissiveness has created an environment in which hate speech – and even violence – against Jews can flourish with near impunity. I am afraid to say that Starmer’s Government has chosen to look the other way. It has made a cynical electoral calculation.”
The leader of Reform UK, whose party is leading in successive opinion polls, reflected on the Heaton Park shul terror attack and said: “If Britain is to remain a country where all its citizens can live free from fear, we must confront the wave of antisemitism that has swept through our nation. On the anniversary of October 7, we should all reflect on that.”
