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Israel (War against Terror)

I take issue with the hon. Gentleman when he talks about children being assassinated; that implies that there was a deliberate attempt by Israel to kill children. I do not accept that at all. Of course I have sympathy with those killed when Israelis go into Gaza and the west bank to try to eradicate the terrorists. The wall has been the subject of other debates, and I shall not go into the issue now. In fairness, I have to say—and the hon. Gentleman should know—that I do not totally agree with the route that the wall is taking. However, the wall, or barrier, is a necessary defence. If—God forbid—Scotland got its independence and started attacking Britain, perhaps we would build a Hadrian’s wall to defend ourselves. Of course I do not defend the route of the wall, but we are not discussing that issue now. For the benefit of any Scottish people listening to this debate, I hasten to add that I am sure that they want neither independence nor to attack England. Let me move on. Every day since the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza strip in August 2005 and the total withdrawal of settlers and soldiers, rockets have been fired—more than 500 to date—by Palestinian terrorists into Israeli towns. Hamas, Palestinian popular resistance committees, Islamic Jihad and splinter groups of Fatah have all claimed responsibility and pledged further attacks against Israelis in community centres, schools, homes and shops. Despite Abu Mazen’s condemnation, no Palestinian political leaders have taken any steps to curb the launch of Qassam rockets or other terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings. The Gaza strip remains a safe haven for terrorists. Sadly, that is why the actions mentioned by the hon. Gentleman have had to happen. The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority has not only refused to take any action, but openly encouraged continued acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. The 25 June terrorist attack against an Israeli defence forces position near a kibbutz, Kerem Shalom, was not, as media outlets have argued, a revenge attack—that was just sloppy journalism—but the culmination of a three-month project that involved the excavation of a tunnel originating from a Palestinian apartment block in Gaza. Clearly, that situation could not be allowed to continue. I gave a rather clumsy argument about Scotland, but I ask again what Britain would do in such circumstances. Would it stand idly by as its innocent civilians were attacked? Of course not. We cannot have double standards and condemn Israel; we have to look at what Israel is doing. All nations have a duty of care to protect their citizens and since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005, 36 Israelis have been killed and 436 others wounded. Let us be clear that democratic and free nations need to work together to combat terrorism. Israel cannot be treated differently from countries in the western alliance because of the protracted conflict with the Palestinians. It is because of that conflict and decades at the hands of brutal terrorism that Israel should be accepted as part of the western alliance’s global war against terrorism. Israel has played a vital role in the struggle against global jihad. If it were not for its contribution to counter-terrorism and its daily struggle on the front line of terrorist attacks by global players such as Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, the middle east and the rest of the world would be far less stable. It is testament to Israeli security and intelligence services that its counter-terrorism activities in the middle east have had much success. To support its war on terrorism, Israel has developed a highly co-ordinated and efficient intelligence apparatus. Britain must learn from Israeli examples of gathering human intelligence on terrorism by deploying undercover agents in Palestinian-controlled areas and recruiting local informants, and from examples of the vigilance and awareness of the Israeli public in preventing terrorism. Signals intelligence is no substitute for human intelligence, and MI6 is taking that on board. Incidentally, as we approach 7/7, I urge the British public to be vigilant, whether they be in London, Birmingham, Manchester or even in rural areas. While paying tribute to the work of our own Secret Intelligence Service, Security Service and GCHQ, I also want to express our gratitude to the Israel security agency, Shin Bet, and to Mossad, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau and the intelligence arms of the Israeli police service and defence forces. We recognise that the time may not be right for Israel to join NATO as a full and equal member, although I would welcome it, but there would be considerable advantages for NATO if it were to upgrade its relations with Israel. Israel meets all the NATO criteria: it is a democracy with a free market economy, and it has logistics and intelligence capabilities that have been vital in the global war on terrorism. For example, it recently launched the Eros B high resolution reconnaissance satellite to monitor Iran’s nuclear sites. Both human and signals intelligence can reduce the potency of global terrorism, but it should also be our objective to put an end to state support for terrorism and to cut off the financing, arming and training of terrorist cells. In conclusion, may I ask the Minister four questions? I gave him prior notice of them and hope that he will answer them fully when he replies. First, will he confirm that Britain will take all necessary steps to combat international terrorism and will aim to add Hezbollah’s political wing to the European Union list of terror organisations? Hezbollah’s political and military wings are one and the same. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah leads both. There are similarities with the odd distinction that was made between Sinn Fein and the IRA during the troubles. They, too, were one and the same. Secondly, will the Minister encourage his colleagues to ensure that there is even closer co-operation between our Security Service and that of Israel? Thirdly, will the Government give an assurance that Britain will begin co-ordinated and effective steps to force state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, Syria and the Sudan to stop supporting global terrorist organisations? Finally, will he assure the House, in the light of Israel’s contribution to the global fight against terrorism, that the United Kingdom will guarantee Israel’s security, particularly in respect of the threat that would be posed by a nuclear Iran? That nation exports fundamentalist ideology and terrorism. Let there be no mistake: it is clear that Israel’s security is wrapped up with our own. It is in the interest of our nation and the British people that we work with and defend the state of Israel in the global fight against terror.