Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has hit out against people defending Hamas and warned that anyone demonstrating their support faces arrest as it is a banned terrorist organisation.
He told GB News “It's just horrendous, isn't it? There are reports of babies being butchered, the festival-goers, as we heard the other day, being slaughtered, even a Holocaust survivor being murdered.
“And this isn't just militants or gunmen, as I'm seeing it described in some places. Call it what it is.
“This is pure and simple terrorism from Hamas, a proscribed organisation, illegal in other words in this country, who have gone out of their way to cause mayhem and murder in Israel, and we stand full square behind Israel and Israelis at this time.”
In a discussion during Breakfast with Isabel Webster and Martin Daubney, he continued: “The first thing to say is Israel has the perfect right to defend itself against this kind of terrorism.
“We think that the death toll is about 1,200, many thousands more injured, and the attack was clearly absolutely barbaric in nature, so they have an absolute right to defend themselves.
“We have asked them to ask us when they need anything specific. Those conversations are ongoing but I think that the main thing that they need is understanding and support from the rest of the world right now, because what happened was unprecedented, and frankly, pure evil.”
On street demonstrations in support of Hamas in the UK, he said: “We don't want people to be going out and doing things which are blatantly inflammatory, but worse still remember that Hamas itself is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Britain.
“Now that means that supporting that terrorist organisation can land you in serious trouble, including many years in jail, so we don't want people to misunderstand and think that that is okay when it is not in Britain.
“But of course, as ever, we are the home of free speech, but it should be done in a respectful way and that is what we expect of all communities.”
