FORMER defence secretary Ben Wallace has said that Israel's "killing rage" risks radicalising people around the world and extending the conflict with Palestine by decades.
Writing in the Telegraph, the senior Tory said Israel’s “original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions”.
The intervention by Wallace, who left office earlier this year, is the latest warning to Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration amid deepening concern over the scale of civilian casualties.
It comes after Foreign Secretary David Cameron called for a “sustainable ceasefire”, as he warned in a joint article with his German counterpart in the Sunday Times that “too many civilians have been killed”.
The US, Israel’s main ally, has also expressed growing unease about the conduct of the war. Last week, president Joe Biden said Israel is losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza.
On Sunday, French foreign minister Catherine Colonna called for an “immediate truce” aimed at releasing more hostages, getting larger amounts of aid into Gaza and moving towards “the beginning of a political solution”.
Wallace warned: “Netanyahu’s mistake was to miss the [October 7 Hamas] attack in the first place.
“But if he thinks a killing rage will rectify matters, then he is very wrong. His methods will not solve this problem. In fact, I believe his tactics will fuel the conflict for another 50 years.”
He said he was not “calling for a ceasefire with Hamas”, but instead that Israel “needs to stop this crude and indiscriminate method of attack”.
The Israeli offensive, triggered by the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 85% of the territory’s population of 2.3 million from their homes.
Aid groups have warned of a spiralling humanitarian crisis as the bombardment continues.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran (above) has spoken about her growing fears for her relatives, who are among a group of Christians who have sought shelter in a church compound in Gaza City.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem over the weekend said two Christian women in the Holy Family Church had been killed by Israeli sniper fire “in cold blood” and seven others were wounded, in an incident condemned by church leaders.
Junior foreign minister Tariq Ahmad said he was “shocked” by the reports and urged Israel to follow international law.
They came after Israeli soldiers shot and killed three Israeli hostages who were later reported to have been shirtless and waving a white flag.
Moran has warned that her family in Gaza have no electricity, no water or food and described them as “basically besieged”.
“I just don’t want them to die. Honestly, that’s where I’m at. We are a week before Christmas. This is a church,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.
“I want to see them survive to Christmas. And I’m, at this moment in time, not at all sure that’s going to happen.”
