Mr. Chair, I agree with my hon. colleague that we should not conflate the terrorist group Hamas with the Palestinian people.
We support the aspirations of the Palestinian people who aspire to an independent sovereign state, a two-state solution in the Middle East. We believe in the aspirations of the Palestinian people to live in peace and security in their own country, with their own self-determination, among the community of nations.
However, we must also be clear that Hamas is a terrorist group, and Hamas committed horrific war crimes, not just in attacking Israel in the first place, but in slaughtering over 1,000 innocent civilians in what were clearly war crimes and which were so systematic they might actually rise to the level of crimes against humanity.
At this difficult time in Israel's history, we must stand with the state of Israel, as we stand with other democratic nations, in their defence and security.