This week, Middle East Minister Rt. Hon. Alistair Burt MP condemned “unacceptable and unjustifiable” rocket attacks against Israeli civilians by Hamas. He underlined that “ultimately, the ongoing decision by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to embrace violence lies at the heart of the Gaza situation”.
In a written answer, the Minister said that “the UK fully supports Israel’s right to self-defence” against these “indiscriminate” attacks.
Around 1000 rockets and mortars were fired by terrorist groups in Gaza towards Israel in 2018.
Minister Burt also expressed the UK’s concern over the construction of terror tunnels into Israel: “We remain deeply concerned by Hamas’s attempts to re-arm and rebuild militant infrastructure, including the tunnel network, in Gaza”.
He added: “Such actions undermine efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harm the prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East”.
The Minister’s remarks came in response to a series of written questions on the subject.
