Terrorists must not get away with murder

Is the United States about to pull the plug on its support for Israel in its struggle with Hamas? Washington has put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. Additionally, it opposes a major ground offensive in Rafah, where one million Palestinians now live after fleeing south from the fighting.

Until now, the Americans have resisted using the word “ceasefire”, believing Israel was justified to pursue Hamas terrorists responsible for the October 7 massacres on self-defence grounds. But as the civilian death toll has mounted and amid pro-palestinian protests around the world, President Biden has for weeks called for greater restraint by the Israel Defence Forces.

This sentiment was implied in a rare intervention in foreign policy by the Prince of Wales yesterday. He called for an “end to the fighting as soon as possible”, and said there was a “desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza” and for hostages to be released.

The American resolution is less problematic for Israel than the Algerian-drafted motion demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. This was vetoed by Washington over concerns it could jeopardise negotiations to engineer a pause in the war and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

But the fact remains that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is now under massive international pressure to bring this conflict to a swift end and avoid any mass civilian casualties by attacking Rafah.

Israel has signalled its intention to proceed against the enclave, where it suspects that Hamas chiefs are now holed up, and has set a three-week deadline for the remaining hostages to be freed.

More could be done by Egypt to relieve pressure by opening its border, but it does not want a refugee crisis of its own and is even reinforcing the frontier.

But the practical impact of a ceasefire would be to allow the people responsible for October 7 to get away with the atrocity and regroup. Unless the Palestinians, under pressure from Arab nations, are prepared to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist without its people constantly feeling threatened, this historic conflict will never end.

No amount of cleverly worded resolutions at the UN or in the Commons, where Labour will support a ceasefire today, will resolve anything until those who want to see the Jewish state wiped off the map end their warped hatred.