During an Urgent Question in the House of Commons yesterday, Finchley and Golders Green MP, Mike Freer, questioned what the Government considered a “proportional response” to the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers to be. Mike Freer mentioned that a many constituents had contacted him to seek clarification on the British Government’s position after the bodies of Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha’ar and Eyal Yifrach were discovered following their murder, believed to be at the hands of Hamas.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mike Freer asked:
“Many of my constituents will be disappointed to hear from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office the rather well used and tired phrase “proportionate response”. Perhaps the Minister, who I know is a decent man, could advise me on what I say to my constituents about what the FCO regards as a proportionate response to three teenagers being murdered and missiles being fired at Israel on a daily basis”
In response, Foreign Office Minister, Hugh Robertson explained:
“I am sorry that my hon. Friend feels that way. Let me be absolutely clear about this: it is utterly unacceptable that people in the Gaza strip fire missiles at Israeli citizens. As he knows, I attended a funeral in January on the edge of the Negev. Precautions had to be taken because we were under threat from missile attacks, which is utterly unacceptable in any way, shape or form. The correct response to the kidnapping and murder of three teenagers is to find the perpetrators and to bring them to justice. We expect exactly the same response in that part of the world as we would find here—no more and no less”
Mike Freer also supported the #BringBackOurBoys campaign which sought to raise awareness of the kidnap of the Israeli teenagers.