Former Conservative leader Sir John Major has claimed it will not be possible for Israel to totally eliminate Hamas, because they represent a “doctrine” as well as operating as a terror group.
During a lecture given at Salisbury Cathedral in memory of former Tory leader Edward Heath, Major also raised questions about Israel’s conduct as it fought against Hamas in Gaza, asking at one stage, “Is starvation now a legitimate weapon of war?”
In a hard-hitting speech, dominated by criticism of populist leaders such as Donald Trump who government through the use of threats and national self-interest, Major referenced the on-going war in Gaza.
Gaza. 29th May, 2025. Displaced Palestinians received food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in southern Gaza City.
He said: “How will the dispossessed, the injured, the bereaved see Israel when the present fighting is done? Will not today’s death and destruction boost recruitment for tomorrow’s terror?
“I do not believe it is possible to totally eliminate Hamas: it is an ‘idea’ – a ‘doctrine’ – as well as a terror group. But every Palestinian – man, woman and child – is not a Hamas terrorist.”
He added:”Is starvation now a legitimate weapon of war? Is barbarianism now acceptable if the barbarian is strong enough – or the victim without friends?
“Can it be that our world is so exhausted, politics so tainted, self-interest so predominant that it has abandoned compassion?
“Is might now right? Has the law, human decency and political morality been cast aside?
“Or is it, perhaps, as simple as this: that our world is now beginning to elect leaders concerned only about national self-interest?
“If so, if politics leads countries to hunker down in their own little trenches of interest, ignore reason, bypass diplomacy, forgo enlightened self-interest – then heaven help us all.”
Sir John Major
During the speech Major cited Donald Trump’s reliance on threats and his apparent support for Russia over Ukraine, along with his threats to annex Greenland.
He said: “This is not America as I have known her. This is not democracy as I understand it.”
The ex-Tory leader also said he failed to see any benefits of Brexit, and praised Keir Starmer for “slowly and painfully beginning to work his way back into a better trading relationship with the EU”.
But he was critical of the Labour government’s cuts to the foreign aid budget.
In his biography Major wrote of his strong relationship with Israel’s then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and noted how in March 1995 he was the first Western leader to visit Yasser Arafat in Gaza, in the newly-established Palestinian entity.
He said of the visit in his biography, “I like to think that I also did some practical good for world poverty, both by announcing a new aid package for impoverished Gaza and by encouraging my travelling party of senior British businessmen to think of investing and purchasing in Jordan and Palestine.
“Because of the Arab boycott of Israel they had never previously been able to fly from Israel to Jordan, and many of them had concentrated on the more profitable Israeli market.”
In a 2010 speech to the Conservative Middle East Council Major was critical of Israel saying:”In recent months, Israel has upset even her strongest allies.
“The murder of a Hamas commander in Dubai and the raid on aid ships heading for Gaza were diplomatic disasters. So, frankly, is the Gaza blockade because it is creating growing support for Hamas at the expense of Fatah – which is not remotely in Israel’s self-interest. “
