Priti 4 Witham

This week I met with the families of the abducted Israeli soldiers whose kidnappings last summer led to an intensification of the troubles in Lebanon. Their dignity and fortitude moved us all as we remembered the continuing silence about the fate of their sons. As we approach the first anniversary of the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit (held in Gaza since 25th of June 2006), Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev (held by Hizbullah since 12th of July), today’s video release of the captured BBC Correspondent Alan Johnston is a distressing reminder of the hard line attitudes adopted by the range of Islamist groups in the Middle East. This is a distressing time for the families of both the kidnapped soldiers and of Alan Johnston, which is why the international community urgently needs a concerted campaign that pushes for their immediate release.

Today I have the real privilege of travelling to Israel as part of a delegation lead by Conservative Friends of Israel. Britain and Israel share the values of democracy and freedom and are allies in the war against terrorism and the fight against Islamist fundamentalism. The relationship between our two countries is important for many reasons but all the more so when it comes to working towards a sustainable peace in the Middle East. While we in Europe assess the current Middle East conflict at an arms length through the news media, we should never lose sight of the serious threat posed by Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran and Syria to Israel and to the war against terror. Each of these organisations rejects Israel’s right to exist and they have repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction. While the human cost of the current conflict and the endless loss of civilian lives increases day after day, Europe with its history of Anti-Semitism must not lose sight of the duty it has to protect the Jewish people from the many nations pledged to destroy them as well as playing a constructive role in helping to work towards a sustainable peace in the Middle East.