Cities of London & Westminster MP Nickie Aiken shares her thoughts in the aftermath of the terror attacks on Israel.

The scenes of utter horror from Israel this week and the traumatic testimonies of the survivors cannot have failed to leave anyone sickened by the acts of terror rained down by Hamas terrorists on Israeli civilians.

The victims: innocent men, women, children and babies raped and murdered in their homes; hundreds of young people massacred at a music festival. Others were kidnapped and taken over the border to Gaza, including children without their parents, the elderly, the sick and Holocaust survivors. Whatever one’s view on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, I cannot see how anyone could condone such acts against humanity.

The people who suffer the most are the Israeli and Palestinian people.

The status quo has failed. It has not only failed the Palestinian people but has made Israel less secure.

Questions on how and why these atrocities were permitted to happen by the Israeli security services and Government must be answered in time, but the immediate priority must be to secure the release of the hostages.

I fear without their release, the people of Gaza will pay an even heavier price than they have up to now.

Thousands on both sides have died, and further loss of life must be avoided.

We must separate the members of Hamas and the Palestinian people.

The rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza is extremely troubling. I have made representations to Ministers regarding the importance of allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. I would also like to see the Rafah border Crossing opened to allow citizens to seek safety in Egypt.

I understand that the UK and Israeli Governments continue to discuss Israel’s response against Hamas in Gaza. Acknowledging that the terrorist organisation has enmeshed itself amongst the civilian population in Gaza, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, continue to highlight the importance of taking all possible measures to protect ordinary Palestinians and facilitate humanitarian aid. I understand our Prime Minister has also spoken with the Egyptian President to raise the importance of opening the Rafah border crossing to allow for humanitarian access and provide a route for British and other nationals to leave Gaza.

I support Israel’s right to defend its people and its borders.

But I equally fear that punishing the citizens of Gaza will not bring the long-term peace and security Israelis deserve and will instead create more hate among Palestinians, particularly the younger generations. Hamas must release their hostages alive, and the Israeli government must open humanitarian corridors for the civilians. Women, children and the elderly must be given safe passage out of Gaza.

I visited Israel and the West Bank last year and spoke to politicians on both sides. I fear that their views were unretractable then and even more so now. I believe a two-state solution is the right one, but it means that both sides will have to accept compromises. I fear that following the Hamas attacks, any solutions or compromises now seem further away than in the past 50 years.