Wednesday, 18 March 2026

 Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (09:47): It is common to hear people talk about the conflict in the Middle East and the horror we all feel at the oppression, displacement and killing of innocent civilians. Often when people do that they are referring to Israel or Gaza or the West Bank or Lebanon or more recently Iran. But there has been very significant violence elsewhere, notably in Syria, where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed during the prolonged civil war and the subsequent takeover by Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group. I would like to thank Jim, Rasha, Karl and all the team at the Alawi Islamic Social Centre in Keon Park for putting on a wonderful iftar last week, but I know their community continue to suffer due to that violence in Syria and I reiterate our calls for the protection of minorities and innocent lives.