Member's statement: Hamas Terrorist Attack: 7 October 2023
Member's statement by Mr Paul Frew on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Frew
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 October 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Hamas Terrorist Attack: 7 October 2023
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5164469
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Like Steve Aiken, I stand in reflection on and remembrance of the day two years ago — 7 October 2023 — that changed the world of every Israeli citizen and every Palestinian in Gaza and sent shock waves through the world. My heart goes out today to all the people affected by that terrorist attack and the war that ensued. They have my sincere, mindful thoughts and prayers at this time. That Hamas attack on innocent civilians has absolutely no comparison to anything that it has done in its history, which is saying something. That terrorist organisation used barbarism on a new scale — an evil that had no limits and absolutely no control. It was barbarism all unbound, and it brought destruction on so many people, so many who were living peacefully in their kibbutz and so many young people who were attending the Nova music festival. I had the honour of visiting the Nova festival site six months after the atrocious attack. It was impactful for me, my experience and my world view to see all the young faces stand tall in remembrance and reflection, each one of them having lost their life. What struck me that day in that mournful scene was that, in each of the images of those who, I knew, had left the scene at that time, every face was smiling. Hamas took not only their lives but their dreams and hopes and not only their dreams and hopes but those of their families. Every day since then, there has been a missing person, an empty chair around a dining table and a member of the community lost who put in so much effort in their kibbutz. It was a surreal experience and one that will never leave me. I stand here today in solemn remembrance of all those who lost their lives in that atrocious terrorist attack and the war afterwards.
318 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: 0.13 (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 (0.68).
- 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 | 0.24 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.07 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.08 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.03 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.13 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.68 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.29 |
| Adopts it | 0.03 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.43 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.25 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.17 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.05 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.05 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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