Conservative splits have opened up on the Gaza conflict as former ministers clashed over the Government’s calls for a “sustainable ceasefire”.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the tougher rhetoric on display from Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron was “unhelpful” and gave “succour to Israel’s enemies”.
But Sir Edward Leigh, a trade minister in the early 1990s, said the “mood is changing” among Tory MPs as he called for “unequivocal” condemnation of “indiscriminate bombing” by Israel amid thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration is facing mounting international concern over the scale of civilian casualties in Gaza. A UN Security Council vote for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” was postponed on Tuesday night amid negotiations over its wording.
The Prime Minister defended calls for a “sustainable” ceasefire, telling MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee: “A ceasefire is clearly not going to last if hostages are still being held. And also if Hamas, whose stated aim is to destroy Israel, is still able to operate in underground tunnels and launch rocket attacks into Israel.
“So those are important facets that we need to grapple with.
“And ahead of a permanent ceasefire, what we’d like to see are immediate and sustained humanitarian pauses which allow the release of more hostages and more aid to enter Gaza.”
Mr Jenrick, speaking during an urgent question in the Commons, told MPs: “All of us abhor the loss of innocent civilian life in Israel and Gaza, but talk of a sustainable ceasefire is unhelpful.
“All it does is give succour to Israel’s enemies at the time of its greatest need – this is a country that fell to its knees just a few weeks ago and suffered the worst tragedy since the Holocaust, now they are trying to eliminate Hamas.
“They’re trying to free the hostages, some of whom are British citizens. Let them finish the job, let them protect Israeli security, and in doing so let Israel protect our security as well.”
Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell replied: “While it is true that weapons have been discovered in incubators in hospital in Gaza, nevertheless I do not agree with my right honourable friend, we are working towards a sustainable ceasefire.
“We are not there yet. We should all of us be working towards that and, in the meanwhile, on the pathway to a sustainable ceasefire we need urgently to get these humanitarian pauses so that humanitarian relief can enter Gaza.”
Sir Edward argued the Government should go further: ““All of us were deeply sympathetic to the plight of our Jewish brothers of the October pogrom and most have accepted the argument that an immediate ceasefire would have just played into the hands of Hamas, but I think on these benches the mood is changing.
“Frankly what Israel is doing is totally unacceptable, this is indiscriminate bombing of vast civilian populations.
“Leaving aside the outrage in the Holy Family Church, it is simply not in the interest of Israel long-term that they radicalise whole generations of Arab youth. It’s not in our interest either to be involved in any way on the side of Israel doing this, so we’ve got to ante-up the rhetoric and condemn this unequivocally.”