“Since we woke up on Saturday morning to those horrifying scenes from Israel and Palestine, we have not shaken the feeling of shock, grief and condemnation. In fact, it has only grown as the tragedy has unfolded.

The young people, shot dead at a music festival. The abduction and degradation of hostages, including women and children. It is truly sickening.

Our party’s response has been united and unequivocal. We fully condemn Hamas’s terrorism. We mourn the innocent lives lost, we pray for the families who have lost loved ones, and echo demands for the immediate and unconditional release of all those taken hostage.

We stand with the Israeli people and with the Jewish community in the UK and around the world, and we condemn the antisemitic incidents that are tragically already increasing.

Israel has, without question, a right in international law to defend its territory and its citizens. We fully support that right. It is vital that it is terrorists who are targeted, not civilians, in line with international humanitarian law.

We also mourn the many innocent Palestinian civilians who have tragically perished - our hearts go out to them, their families and those in the UK with ties there. We know that Hamas is not the Palestinian people. We are very concerned that Gaza is now cut off from essentials like food and water, and are wholeheartedly supporting UN calls to facilitate supplies while also pressing the UK Government to make humanitarian aid available.

I have written my thoughts on this awful tragedy, not just as the party’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, but also as the first British-Palestinian MP, someone who fears for my family in the region, and someone who was there just last year. You can read them here: “