David Lammy: ‘Israel faces threats from Iran and its proxies to wipe it off the map’

David Lammy has told the Labour Party’s conference that Israel “faces threats from all angles with Iran and its proxies seeking to wipe it off the map.”

In his keynote speech to this year’s Labour Party conference in Liverpool the foreign secretary recalled that last year’s event began as Hamas terrorists committed “atrocities” on October 7th.

Speaking on Sunday he said:”Conference, last year, as we boarded trains up to Liverpool, we read the horrific news that Hamas terrorists had murdered around 1200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 others.

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“What has followed those atrocities is a horrific war. Tens of thousands of Palestinian women and children killed and injured. Their homes turned to rubble, leaving Gaza a vision of hell on earth.

“Meanwhile dozens of Israelis remain cruelly held captive and Israel faces threats from all angles with Iran and its proxies seeking to wipe Israel off the map.

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“Conference, I know, like me, you are desperate to see the conflict in the Middle East come to an end. And this Labour government has already made clear Britain’s principles.”

Detailing how in his first weeks of government, he went to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to call for “an immediate ceasefire” which were “words no previous Foreign Secretary had even used.”

He added:”We have used the full weight of Britain’s diplomacy to push to protect civilians, now. Get all the hostages out, now. And unrestricted aid into Gaza, now.

“We have provided millions to fund field hospitals in Gaza. We brought the Security Council together to demand polio vaccinations for Palestinian children.

“We have respected the independence of the international courts and we have made the right decisions to stand up for international law.

“We have called out the violent settlers in the West Bank. We have continued to fight for the hostages and to support their families.

“We have never lost sight of the end goal: an irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.”

Lammy said he believed in the right of Israel to be safe and secure, and also “the justness of the Palestinian cause.”

“And it is only once Palestinians and Israelis have the same fundamental rights – sovereignty, security and dignity in their own independent, recognised states – that we can achieve a just and lasting peace for all,” said Lammy.

But referencing the “worrying escalation between Israel and Lebanese Hizballah” he added “this is in nobody’s interest.”

Lammy continued:”Our message to all parties is clear: we need an immediate ceasefire from both sides so that we can get to a political settlement.

“So that Israelis and Lebanese civilians can return to their homes and live in peace and security.

“And to British nationals still in Lebanon, let me say clearly: for your own safety, leave now.

“Iran is not only destabilising the Middle East but providing support to Putin’s barbaric war through exporting ballistic missiles.

“That is why we put new restrictions on Iran Air that will stop it entering the UK and new sanctions against the IRGC.”