James Cleverly on the 7th October massacre

 "One year on, October 7th will remain etched in my memory forever. 

That clear Saturday morning in Southern Israel, Hamas unleashed a brutal terrorist attack, raping, mutilating and kidnapping innocent Israeli civilians. Armed gunmen rampaging through a music festival. Families torn apart. Defenceless babies killed in cold blood just for being Jewish.

Just days later, on the invitation of the ambassador, I was in Southern Israel against official advice, as the first Foreign Minister to visit after the attacks.

With Eli Cohen, Israel’s Foreign Minister, I travelled to the southern Israeli village of Ofakim, where we were forced to shelter underground following a barrage of Hamas rockets. And later, with my own eyes, I saw the bullet holes and the blood, when I visited the site of the attacks, met survivors, and witnessed the destruction caused by Hamas. It was barbarism beyond belief.

When I met with President Herzog, he said “James, everyone stands with us today. But soon, we will have to respond to what has happened. And who will remain with us when we do?”. It seems pertinent today.

We must never forget that Israel is surrounded by those that wish them harm, funded and propelled by Iran. It is easy to criticise Israel from the comfort of Britain, to call for de-escalation, but de-escalation must work both ways. It is right to call for Israel to respect international humanitarian law, as I did, but we must also question what it means when their enemies do not.

At home, antisemitic incidents skyrocketed. The Jewish community suffering through no fault of their own. We had to increase spending to provide security to Jewish people, something which I am proud we did, but ashamed that we ever had to do.

As pictures came through of ballistic missiles raining down on Israel last week, from Iran, it was a reminder of the mortal threat they face - a threat against their very existence. And it reinforced the importance of British support of their right to exist and defend themselves against these attacks. The new Labour government must stand firm. 

The world is too dangerous a place for sixth form politics. 

Britain must never forget who our allies are - and who they are not. Our enemies are watching and the UK must not waver in its support for Israel, one year on from the 7th October massacre."

(Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, today on X, formerly Twitter)