Like most Members of Parliament I have been inundated with emails and letters from constituents who are horrified at what they see on their TVs every day from Gaza.

Sometimes over the last few weeks I’ve heard some politicians and pundits describe the situation in the Middle East as complex. And much mention has been made of the rockets fired by Hamas into Gaza.

The situation in the Middle East, not just the Israel-Palestine conflict, is certainly complex.  And it is totally wrong for Hamas to fire rockets into Israel.

But talking about the ‘complexities’ of the situation runs the risk of obscuring circumstances which in fact are totally clear.  And it is perfectly clear to my constituents and to the world that what is happening in Gaza is death and destruction on a massive scale caused by a modern and technically advanced Israeli army sending tanks and planes and missiles and bombs right into the heart of one of the most densely populated areas on earth.

It is an assault which has also severally disabled those agencies which seek to help the suffering of the people of Gaza – and the frequency of ‘accidental’ attacks on UN facilities must surely raise questions of whether this is a deliberate attempt by Israeli forces to prevent the UN operating effectively within Gaza.

Nothing that Hamas has done justifies this murderous and massive Israeli assault which has cost the lives of more than a thousand civilians so far, many of them children.

Israel must stop what it is doing in Gaza.  And so far, Israel has shown little willingness to respond to the calls for a ceasefire and to stop its attacks which are doing so much damage to the civilian population.

So there needs to be pressure on Israel to try and influence it to stop.  At the very least, there needs to be a UK and EU embargo on the sale of arms to Israel.  To say this is not to be one-sided against Israel as some suggest.  To take a somewhat fanciful parallel, if it was  discovered that a British company was selling rockets to Hamas we can be pretty certain that would be stopped immediately.

But there’s more that could be done.  Israel has been trying to establish closer relations with the European Union.  Part of the agreement which Israel seeks requires it to comply with certain human rights standards.  There can be no question of those closer relationships being established while Israel continues with policies like the attacks on Gaza, the blockade of that community or the extension of settlements on the West Bank.

These are the least of the steps that could be taken to make it clear to Israel that the world means what it says when it demands an end to the bloodbath in Gaza.

If regrettably it does not, then more steps need to be taken to put pressure on Israel – and that should include consideration of economic and diplomatic sanctions.  If Israel responds to the international anger by changing its policies and actions, then that would not be necessary.  But if it does not, the world cannot sit by wringing its hands and passing resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

The fact is that if any other country was doing what Israel is doing in Gaza the international community would be vociferous in its outrage.

I know that the British government has been at the heart of efforts to get an agreed UN resolution and a ceasefire, and the British government has made it clear that what Israel is doing is unacceptable and disproportionate.

But the carnage in Gaza and the anger felt in Britain and around the world, require these resolutions and statements to be made effective.

And putting pressure on Israel is not anti-Israeli. Pressure on Israel and on Hamas too is needed if there is to be any chance, not just of a ceasefire but also a longer term comprehensive settlement acceptable both to the Israelis and the Palestinians.  Ultimately, it is negotiations leading to peace which is the way forward, not never-ending, war and conflict.

Mark hoped to deliver this speech in the House of Commons debate on Gaza on 15 January 2009. Due to the number of MPs wishing to speak he was unable to give the speech in Parliament but gave it to a constituency meeting later.