The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) today criticised the UK Government’s repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, following remarks made by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the United Nations Security Council. NJA condemned this position as dangerously naïve, morally incoherent, and strategically counterproductive.
“This insistence on a premature ceasefire demonstrates a wilful disregard for the realities on the ground,” said NJA Chairman Gary Mond. “It ignores the fact that Hamas continues to hold Israeli hostages, retains its command structure in Gaza, and has vowed to repeat the atrocities of October 7 again and again. Calling for a ceasefire under these conditions is not peacebuilding – it is capitulation.”
While Ambassador Woodward claimed that a ceasefire is the “best hope” to alleviate suffering and secure the release of hostages, the NJA strongly disagrees. Ceasefires have consistently been exploited by Hamas to regroup, rearm, and prolong the conflict. The idea that a ceasefire will magically “end Hamas’ control of Gaza” is not only unserious – it is insulting to those who understand the nature of Hamas’s jihadist ideology and Iran-backed strategy.
The NJA also rejected the notion that pressuring Israel to unilaterally lift security restrictions and allow unvetted aid flows will serve humanitarian aims. “Israel has a duty to prevent resources from reaching the very terrorists who murdered over 1,200 civilians in cold blood,” Mond said. “Pretending this is just a logistical bottleneck at the border is disingenuous. The real problem is Hamas diverting aid and embedding itself in civilian infrastructure.”
Moreover, the UK’s statements make no serious reference to Hamas’s war crimes, to the suffering of Israeli civilians, or to the agony of hostage families denied closure. Worse, they appear to acquiesce to Hamas’s continued rule and the indefinite captivity of Israeli hostages.
The NJA calls on the UK Government to urgently reorient its policy toward moral clarity and strategic realism. “The path to peace is not through appeasing terrorists,” Mond said. “It is through dismantling them.”
