Sunak and Herzog - live now on BBC

The actions of the Israeli government do not align with my values.

Yes I'm sure any Palestinian land (without Hamas) would be a beacon for womens and gay rights just like the rest of that region of the world (sarcasm). The fact is we align with Israel because they align with our values.

Hamas are a terrorist organisation, they are not the the Palestinian population as a whole - you know that. Palestinian does not = Hamas.

Lots of us will not align ourselves with the Israeli government actions, but that does not mean we are pro Hamas - tired of having to point that out.

Entirely agree with you. I look back amazed at how it came to be a possibility and the magnitude of it had it occurred, as you say.

No because I think it would have been massively destabilising to all of our alliances, principally with the US, but also our positions with important partners/rivals like Asia, India, Russia etc...basically it would have been throwing 150 years of UK foreign policy up in the air and any sudden change of that magnitude is to be feared, in my view (I would say that for any nation and foreign policy not just this one. You mess with foreign policy at your peril cos there's a lot of unknwon unknowns and unforeseens).

I'd love to know what plans the security services and MI6 were putting in place for the possibility of a Corbyn win. I'm sure there were plans being put in place to protect the UK's current global alignment and prevent a sudden rift. I also know that Piers Corbyn was a worry for the security service in the event of a Corbyn win.

Of course it was obvious by the start of 2019 that Labour would not win any election but in 2017 it must have been a serious possibility. I'd love to know what the plans and thinking were but no doubt the papers won't be released in my lifetime!

"I know that you are taking every precaution to avoid harming civilians, in direct contrast to the terrorists of Hamas, which seem to put civilians in harm’s way" - Rishi Sunak

Well, those are some very effective precautions, there, Rishi! </s>

I'm concerned about Sunak getting involved as I don't think he's clever enough and is prone to showing his irritation when challenged. This terrible situation needs the best to try and fix it, for all our sakes, and Sunak isn't one of them.

Absolutely, @PenOfTentacles !

Yes exactly @PenOfTentacles

Talking of picking sides, it baffles me how anyone benefiting from the freedoms and opportunities of life in the West might support Hamas rather than align themselves with the Israeli cause.

Not to hold women to a higher standard or anything but what exactly is it about Hamas, Islamic Jihad and their other allies that would make you pick that side?

Is that last paragraph something you’d have welcomed?

I understand why you wish we weren't taking sides OP but the fact is that taking sides is really what foreign policy is all about. And the UK has always supported Israel because it's the only democracy in that region. Obviously we've had to speak out of both sides of our mouth cos of OPEC etc. But, ya know. All countries everywhere have always done foreign policy.

Even countries that claim to be neutral in past conflicts haven't been really. e.g. Ireland took neutrality in WW2 but still kept lines of contact with Nazi germany and were among the first to send condolences on Hitler's detah. You pick a side explicitly or implicitly.

In the current ME conflict there is plenty of implicit taking sides. Hamas is using weapons bought from North Korea, Iran and Russia. Israel using weapons from US. Every conflict has a bigger shadow conflict behind it.

It's sad but that's the way it is in the world I think.

The UK did have a real opportunity to change our current foreign policy alignment in the GE of 2019, had Jeremy become PM we would now be much more aligned with Palestine and Iran I think. But the GE didn't come out that way.

You can see it here

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67141589

I watched it on the BBC news channel.

Where? Nor on news channel, that's world business report talking about Netflix, tesla etc.
What channel are you watching or listening to?