Debate contribution: Gaza Ceasefire Agreement
Debate contribution by Dr Steve Aiken OBE on .
- MLA
- Dr Steve Aiken OBE
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 13 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Gaza Ceasefire Agreement
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5175374
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Today — 13 October — is Hoshana Rabbah, the final day of Succoth. It is the day on which Jewish people everywhere pray and look to the fate of the new year. As we have seen from the joyous scenes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, today is also one of significant hope. The 20 living hostages are being restored to their families, friends and loved ones after two years of horror, barbarity, torture, sexual abuse and mental torment. Their recovery will be long and arduous, but I am sure that all here will join me in praying for their eventual healing. It is also a time of immense sadness, not only for the families of the dead hostages who were murdered by Hamas and other Palestinians but for the millions across the world who were affected by the barbarity of 7 October. For them, there is no joy of reuniting and the resumption of disrupted lives. Instead, there will be further mourning and pain. They, too, are at the forefront of our prayers, and my prayers, today. The murder of those people, including women and children, will forever remain a stain on the Palestinian terrorists and those in Gaza who facilitated their murder and torture and the desecration of their remains. It is also a stain on those useful idiots and fellow travellers who chanted for global "infitada" and rivers to the sea while giving agency to the global surge of antisemitism, no less than on this Island. As we can continue to see, those lies are not only unproven but a clear example of propaganda and add to the Jew hate, which, ironically, purports to be the truth for far too many in the Chamber and elsewhere. For those who say that there was "no alternative" to terror, the reality is this: if 7 October had not happened, many thousands would still be alive. The paradox is that the Iranian-instigated Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Sinn Fein's presidential-pick and friend, Assad in Syria and thousands of other useful idiots were all designed by Iran to destroy the Abraham peace accords and enable Iran to develop its nuclear bomb. Right now, Israel has restored deterrence; on 22 June, Iran's nuclear programme lay buried under 400 feet of rock; Hezbollah has been emasculated; the Houthi leadership has been destroyed; Assad, much to Catherine of Galway's chagrin, is gone; and Hamas has been crushed. However, more importantly, the restoration of the peace process and the normalisation of politics in the Middle East between the Gulf States and the Saudis has been achieved. That has been done by the support and help of one man: the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, who several parties in the Assembly would not deign to meet during a trade mission. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Donald J Trump today.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
481 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met every documented threshold for a qualifying culture-war activity.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.69 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.85); Sectarian or communal antagonism (0.65); Dog-whistle messaging (0.71).
- The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.96).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The text adopts a strongly antagonistic or dog-whistle framing, which qualifies even alongside legitimate scrutiny.
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 | 0.85 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.65 | Yes |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.06 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.71 | Yes |
| Controversy escalation | 0.50 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.07 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.69 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.01 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.03 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.96 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9. This record has been assessed 3 times; the latest assessment is shown.
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