A Gaza ceasefire imposed without the return of all the remaining Israeli hostages and Hamas removed from power “would not be a ceasefire at all but a victory for Hamas”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a speech on Wednesday night.
Speaking at the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust at London’s Grosvenor House hotel, Sunak earned loud applause as he pledged that his government “will not stand” for such an outcome. Describing his meeting with the families of four of the hostages earlier this month, he said “their harrowing ordeal is beyond heartbreaking. We have to bring them home”.
The PM said his government was also determined to “work towards the long-term future we all want to see, of a safe and secure Israel with Palestinians living in dignity on a pathway to a viable Palestinian State”.
But in contrast to recent statements by Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, he said nothing about possible recognition of a Palestinian state before a final peace deal had been agreed.
Turning to the surge in antisemitism seen in Britain since the October 7 massacre, Sunak said this was “utterly, utterly sickening… It is hatred pure and simple, and I tell you tonight: we will fight this antisemitism with everything we’ve got”.
He pledged to give the CST more than £70 million over the next four years, with £18 million being made available in the next financial year and at least as much again every year until 2028. The money, Sunak said, would fund measures such as security guards, CCTV and alarm systems at Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres.
Sunak said: “As Prime Minister I will lead this government in a long-term effort to strengthen your security, defend our liberal democratic values and change our culture so we tackle the root causes of this hatred.”
Instead of announcing a grant for just one year, as the government has done in the past, Sunak said that because it was clear that the CST would be needed for many years into the future, “I am changing the way CST is funded to help you plan for the long-term…with the biggest financial commitment that any government has ever made .”
He recalled that he had visited the Kinloss shul immediately after October 7, and “said I would stand with you today, tomorrow, and always. I truly meant it. I will lead this government in a long-term effort to strengthen your security, to defend our liberal democratic values and change our culture so we tackle the root causes of this hatred.”
Earlier in the day, Sunak said, he had met police leaders in Downing St and discussed a new “defending democracy protocol” to protect MPs and “new guidance to make clear to officers how they should protect surgeries, fundraisers, and protests”.
Every MP, councillor and candidate would have a named police contact.
Responding to criticisms of the policing of anti-Israel protests, Sunak said: “Yes, you can march and protest with passion; you can demand the protection of civilian life, but no, you cannot call for jihad,” while there was “no context in which it’s acceptable to beam antisemitic tropes on to Big Ben, and no cause you can use to justify the support of proscribed terrorist groups, like Hamas”.
He said that the threats and harassment directed against Jewish students on university campuses was “simply not acceptable”.
He singled out the JC’s disclosure that Iranian Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders had been able to give talks online to UK students, saying this was “an abuse of freedom of speech” that could not be tolerated.
“This cannot go on,” Sunak said. “Where people break the law on our campuses, they will be met with the full consequences, and where they create a culture of intimidation, we will hold the university leadership to account.”
He was, he said, soon to summon vice chancellors from leading universities to Downing St to discuss how they would ensure the safety of their Jewish students.
