LONDON: British MP Layla Moran has expressed fears for her relatives in Gaza who are unable to move to safety inside what she called an “open-air prison,” The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
Moran, who became the UK’s first MP of Palestinian heritage in 2017, told “Good Morning Britain” that her extended family had been forced to take refuge in a church after their house was hit by an Israeli airstrike.
The show’s presenter Richard Madeley faced criticism for having asked “With your family connections in Gaza, did you have any indication of what was going to happen?” in relation to the attack by Hamas.
Many, including Liberal Democrat candidate Liz Jarvis, considered the question “appalling” and called for an apology from Madeley.
Appealing for the opening of humanitarian corridors, Moran said it was impossible for her elderly relatives to relocate to a safe location where they would not be targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
She said: “That’s the problem with the geography of Gaza as a whole. It’s essentially an open prison, so you wouldn’t be able to move easily from one place to another.
“They have heard that there are convoys of people trying to move that have also been hit and they just don’t feel it’s safe to move.”
Moran said her relatives were running out of food and had been forced to resort to drinking dirty water.
She added: “I don’t believe it’s right that my family is being held accountable for what Hamas has done.
“This is a cycle of violence. My worry now is that this is radicalizing another generation on all sides. We have to stop this hatred. We have to bring people together and find a way through.”
