Britain’s Foreign Office held a seminar at which officials were told that calling Hamas terrorists was an “obstacle to peace” and it was suggested that Israel was a “white, settler colonialist nation,” as well as stating that “there could be no future without Hamas.”
Speakers claimed that labeling Hamas as a terrorist organization was unhelpful and an obstacle to peace, and that the political department of the organization was moderate and should be engaged with.
Those in attendance were told that the October 7th massacre should be viewed as an act of resistance to Israeli "occupation," and that Israel was to blame for the incident due to its treatment of the Palestinian Arabs. Additionally, the lecturers noted, the collateral damage from the Israeli counterattack was to be considered Israel’s responsibility, as it is incumbent upon the occupying power to prevent damage to civilians.
The audience was told to regard the Palestinian Arab terrorists being held in Israeli facilities as hostages as well, with a note that there are several thousand such prisoners but less than 150 Israeli hostages.
According to The Jewish Chronicle, four academics, led by Professor Jeroen Gunning from King’s College London, spoke at the Office’s London headquarters to an audience of various levels of diplomats, including those who deal with the Middle East.
The seminar was organized by the Foreign Office’s top Middle East research analyst, Martin Hetherington, under the title “Israel/Gaza: What Next for Hamas,” and was open only to an audience of approximately one hundred previously-vetted diplomatic staff members.
Attendees were told that the conference was about “the future of Hamas in Gaza and its implications for security and reconstruction,” and “the future of Hamas within the wider Palestinian movement and what it means for reform of the PLO and any future Middle East Peace Process.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The UK Government’s position is unequivocal that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Many of the views expressed by the academics in the seminar were wrong and contrary to the government’s position.”
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination, including antisemitism. We are reviewing guidance on internal seminars to ensure speakers invited are appropriate.”