THE Bailiff has said the Island can “only hope and pray” that efforts to release Israeli hostages, as well as attempts to get aid into Gaza, will be successful.
Sir Timothy Le Cocq condemned “the brutal acts of terrorism perpetrated by Hamas on women and children” and said Islanders looked on with ‘increasing concern and dismay, at the suffering of innocent civilians and the growing humanitarian crises in Gaza”.
Hamas – the political and military organisation governing the Gaza Strip – is designated a terrorist organisation by the UK. It killed over 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages in an attack on southern Israel on Saturday 7 October.
Israel has since retaliated with weeks of air strikes. The death toll in Gaza has risen to over 10,000, according to the Hamas-backed Health Ministry.
Sir Timothy said Islanders had “always looked outwards” and been sensitive to the plight of innocent victims of violence across the world.
In his statement, the Bailiff said: “I fully support and subscribe to the sentiments contained in the Unity Statement,” a message published by Chief Minister Kristina Moore and leaders of Jersey’s Anglican, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim communities.
The statement has since attracted two more signatories: the Reverend Dawn Saunders and St Martin Constable Karen Shenton-Stone.
They called for co-operation, which, the signatories said, might necessitate “a pause in hostilities”. This stance aligned Jersey with the UK – but left room for criticism from those who have called for a ceasefire, including Reform Jersey leader Deputy Sam Mézec.
In his statement, the Bailiff wrote: “As we try to come to terms with what is unfolding moment by moment in that troubled region of the world, we can only hope and pray that the efforts of those working so hard to release hostages, and to provide a gateway for humanitarian aid, will be successful.
“This is a complex situation, but we hope that those with the power to do so may reach for a larger vision of peace and of humanity.”
