Debate contribution: Gaza: Action to End Forced Starvation
Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 9 September 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Gaza: Action to End Forced Starvation
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5086512
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I will comment first on the political process. We have a motion on Gaza tabled by Sinn Féin in the Northern Ireland Assembly, when we have virtually no influence over UK foreign policy, which is a reserved matter for Westminster. The irony, of course, is that Sinn Féin has the ability to influence, debate and vote on such matters in Parliament at Westminster, but it chooses to boycott that elected Parliament. Today's debate only exposes its failure to turn up and represent people where it would count. I turn to the subject matter. Absolutely, the situation in Gaza is dire. We deplore the loss and suffering of all innocent life. Next month marks the second anniversary of the murderous onslaught by Hamas on 7 October 2023, when it carried out murder, rape and kidnapping, killing around 1,200 people and taking another 250 Israelis hostage. Hamas continues to ruthlessly hold hostages, starving them to death, and it continues its terrorist attacks and rocket assaults on Israel. This summer saw the retrieval of two more dead Israeli hostages. There are 48 still being held by Hamas, which indicates the unwillingness of Hamas to bring the war to an end. If we want peace, we must ensure that Hamas is ousted from Gaza. In Gaza, public criticism of Hamas carries significant risks. In March this year, 22-year-old Oday al-Rubai was abducted and tortured to death by armed gunmen after taking part in anti-Hamas protests in Gaza city. There are reports that others have been beaten, shot or killed for publicly opposing Hamas. Israel is clearly determined to end the rule of Hamas and eliminate its leadership. On the claims of genocide, as has already been referenced, a letter written last week by the then Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, confirmed that the UK Government do not believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. He wrote:
“As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is 'specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.'”
Writing to Sarah Champion, chairwoman of Parliament’s International Development Committee, Lammy stated:
“The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”
It is imperative that there is swift action and lasting solutions to this hugely concerning situation. As a party, we want to see a stark increase in the amount of aid reaching Gaza. We support the recent efforts made by all contributing parties, including airdrops, and call for those efforts to be redoubled. In addition, a repeat of previous temporary pauses in the conflict is needed to see vital aid making its way into Gaza. That would allow humanitarian corridors to open. DUP parliamentarians will continue to support any initiatives and efforts that see an increase of aid into Gaza. Whilst doing so, we continue to uphold Israel's right to defend itself and its internal security against the threats posed by the terrorist organisation, Hamas. Those ought not to be mutually exclusive aims. Hamas is a deadly gang of murderers, whose game is to swing international opinion in its favour and against the victims of its terror. The disturbing images from Gaza lead us all to the conclusion that the war must end. However, we must remember that it started because terrorists raped, burned and murdered people and took people captive. They still hold hostages today. That was done deliberately at a time when many Arab nations were moving to normalise their relations with the state of Israel. The time has now approached for redoubling of the efforts to see a permanent and sustainable ceasefire —
— that, in turn, will result in an end to the war.
614 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.19 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.56).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.29 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.15 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.30 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.14 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.54 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.19 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.56 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.02 |
| Adopts it | 0.42 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.38 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.27 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.12 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.09 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.09 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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