If a terror group is welcoming government policy, something is seriously wrong - The Jewish Chronicle

I would like to begin by thanking everyone who is here this afternoon. In front of me, I see an exceptionally large gathering of people and we are all here with pain deep in our hearts, all demonstrating peacefully with dignity and within the law. To all the police officers who are here in such high numbers, on behalf of us all, thank you for everything you do. Thank you for protecting the streets of our capital and to the wonderful CST as always: thank you very much!

Two months ago, when I was in Israel, I met Dalia Horn. Her two brothers in law, Yair and Eitan, were cruelly abducted on the 7th of October. Thank God, Yair was released after close to 500 days, but Eitan is still being held captive in a terror tunnel in Gaza.

She said to me something I will never forget.

She said that soon after Yair was released, he turned to his family and he told them about an occasion when he and his brother Eitan were forced to run for their lives down a long and dangerous tunnel under Gaza, and at one point, Eitan collapsed. He was so hungry, he was so weak, and he motioned to his brother, Yair, to go ahead. Leave me here. You can survive. But Yair turned around, and he lifted up his brother, with the words, "achim anachnu" – "we are brothers". But then when Yair was released, he turned to his family and he said, now that Eitan is by himself, who is there to lift him up? Who is there to help him and the other hostages? And I believe that our answer has to be: it's all of us. We are the brothers and the sisters of every single one of the hostages, and nothing is going to stop us from doing whatever we can to secure their release.

They are being held by the wicked Hamas. Hamas is the personification of evil. It is an evil which has brought murder, rape and the taking of hostages into our lives. It is an evil which is purposefully causing the suffering of its own people, placing them in harm's way, and preventing them from receiving humanitarian aid. But unlike Hamas, we never want to see the suffering of even one single innocent person.

Hamas is an evil which, just last week, broadcast to the world those horrific images of two of the hostages, Please, God, enable them to survive! They looked so awful and so terrible. One was being forced to dig his own grave. But despite it all, this will only strengthen our resilience to declare: "Achim Anachnu!". We are the brothers and sisters of every single one of the hostages.

Until recently, our government was saying a similar thing. After meeting with families of hostages and former hostages, they were continuously declaring that they would leave no stone unturned in their efforts for every single one of the hostages. However the government's announcement of two weeks ago has dealt a blow to the welfare and the lives of every single one of the hostages. Emily Damari has called out to our government and said: what you are intending to do will not contribute towards a solution. Rather, it will contribute to the continuation of suffering. And Emily, added, you are delivering a reward to terror.

No wonder that last week, one of the senior Hamas leaders thanked our government and said that the UK's intention can be considered one of the fruits of the seventh of October. If a terrorist organisation proscribed by the UK Government is congratulating the UK Government, it means that there is something seriously wrong.

And so to our government we turn and we say: how will you ever be able to live with the fact that you will have recognised the Palestinian state at the head of which is a terrorist organisation with the stated intention of destroying the State of Israel and harming Jews right around the World, and all this at a time when the hostages are still languishing in the tunnels of Gaza.

The Labour Party both in opposition and now in government, has had a mantra: They have continuously been saying don't judge us by our words. Judge us by our deeds. And to our government, we say right now: this is the time for responsible action. It is not too late. And as for us, "achim anachnu!", we will continue to do whatever we can for the sake of each and every one of the hostages!

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