---

Global Security (Middle East)

I think that my hon. Friend will find that I used the word ““condemn”” rather than ““regret””. I do condemn and oppose it, and I have made it clear all along that I do not think that attacks on Israeli civilians will bring about any kind of peace. Political engagement and a political solution will bring that about. My hon. Friend may not have heard what I said, and I shall repeat it for his benefit. There have been 675 Israeli military attacks on Gaza since Annapolis, mainly by air, but also by land. A first-world country is attacking people who can be described only as living in the fourth world. It is not a war of equals; it is a war of oppression and occupation. I want peace, and I want people to be able to live in peace. A political solution requires political engagement. Israel's refusal to engage with a large part of the Palestinian population, in which it is supported by Britain and the United States, will not bring about peace.