The vigils continue in Salisbury and around 25 braved the cold and rain on Saturday 31st January to hold the 113th such event. A fragile ceasefire continues to hold and plans are continuing for the Board of Peace. 492 have died since the October ceasefire and the total dead is now put at 71,660 by the Hamas Health Ministry. On this, news this week that the IDF has now accepted this as a correct figure having decried the statistics since 2023. A further 10,000 are thought to be under the rubble unaccounted for. Throughout the conflict, Israel has claimed it is engaged in targeted strikes and reports of indiscriminate attacks are according to Netanyahu, a ‘blood libel’.
The UN has reported that the ceasefire is making a difference as more aid is getting in to the territory. They say the famine is being reversed although aid is insufficient to meet all needs. Foreign media have not been allowed into Gaza preventing verification of claims and the reporting of facts on the ground. The Foreign Press Association has launched a claim in the Israel Supreme Court to allow journalists in now that a ceasefire is in place. They argue it is absurd to prevent journalists from entering.
We have noted in previous posts that despite 113 vigils having taken place, there has been no sign of the local MP Mr John Glen at any of them and he has never mentioned their existence in his weekly column in the local paper the Salisbury Journal. About 2 weeks ago, an attendee of the vigils wrote to him for an answer but has not received a reply. Mr Glen is thought to be a member of the influential and well-funded Conservative Friends of Israel organisation as are a number of Labour and LibDem MPs. About 80% of conservative members are thought to be members. The question is whether being a member of this group overrides his role as the local MP employed to represent his constituent’s interests, not those of a foreign power?
Talk to the Salisbury group about his new book ‘Complicit’
January 2026
The Amnesty International Salisbury Group invited the noted journalist and author Peter Oborne to speak about his recently published book* ‘Complicit: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza’ which describes in detail the extent to which British governments and media have supported the Israeli government presentation of events in Gaza since the massacre in October 2023. The event, held in the Methodist Church, was very well attended, with an audience of around 80. Following his presentation there was an opportunity for the audience to ask questions. Thirty copies of his book quickly sold out.
Asked about the motivation for writing the book, Mr Oborne (on the right of the picture) said that the drive came to him while in Nablus in October 23, as a continuation of his previous work as a political journalist and critic of lying in politics and the pro-Israel lobby. He noted that the former prime minister Rishi Sunak had declared unequivocal support for Israel, and the current prime minister Sir Keir Starmer notoriously agreed that the Israelis ‘had the right to deny fuel and water to the Gazans’. This brought them into an alliance with the far right and right wing media.
The role of the United States as a factor was considered. This has affected the language that is used in the conflict. Sir Keir Starmer, it was noted, was a human rights lawyer, and a Corbynite [reference to Jeremy Corbyn, a previous leader of the Labour Party], who changed as soon as he became leader.
Asked how influential the Conservative Friends of Israel were, Mr. Oborne noted that as MPs they must be compromised and should not be part of the debate if receiving funding from them (Note: the Salisbury MP Mr. John Glen is a member of this group). The funding is significant and amount to around half a million pounds by some estimates. He observed that during the committee stage of a related bill, only pro-Israeli MPs were called.
Media bias
The discussion moved on to the question of misrepresentation of events in the media. The claim that Hamas had ‘beheaded babies’ was reported as fact in the Daily Mail and the Times, and such stories were used as a justification for deliberate targeting by the IDF. In general, war has always led to misreporting historically: the first casualty in war is truth. Lurid stories of baby killings were repeated in the Independent (!) and the Daily Express and repeated by the Israeli Ambassador and other politicians.
Q: how many babies were killed and beheaded? A: Two were killed, none beheaded. In his book Peter Oborne quotes research by the Israeli paper Haaretz which revealed one had been shot through a door and a second infant had died after delivery by Caesarean section and the mother had died as well. Terrible events but not the mass killing of babies which the British media had swallowed whole.
Even the BBC and broadsheet newspapers were guilty of misreporting, sometimes by omission rather than commission. In his book, Oborne describes the BBC’s coverage as ‘a reporting disaster and a moral calamity‘ (p51)
For example, no mention was ever made of the “Dahiya doctrine” of military destruction of civilian entities. The doctrine itself calls for the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in order to induce suffering and severe distress throughout the targeted population. By targeting indiscriminately, the IDF hopes to deter further military attacks against Israel, destroy its enemies, as well as influence the population to oust the militants seen as the primary target. This seems to contradict Israeli claims of targeting actions against Hamas not civilians, a claim endlessly repeated by the media.
Why did British media consistently misreport events in the Gaza war Peter was asked? The fear of being called anti-Semitic is a factor in bias among reporters. The Israel lobby will respond immediately to critical comment and not all journalists recognize the rules of the game. The IDF will regularly challenge reporting of actual events. With most newspapers being pro-Israel, it is easier to report from that angle.
Israel accused UNRWA of employing and harbouring Hamas terrorists among its 17,000 staff. As a result, the British government immediately withdrew its support. UNWRA was the largest agency operating in Gaza and by closing their warehouses and distribution work it had a devastating effect on the lives of those living there. In the past few days, their HQ was demolished by Israel, and, although the UK reinstated its connection, the myth of Hamas involvement was never rejected.
Questions from the floor
Questions from the floor included the makeup of the IDF (the Israeli national army, but one with a substantial number of foreign volunteers) and the influence of Israel had over the USA and UK policy. He thought some but is was not overwhelming. In answer to a question, Mr. Oborne praised Mrs. Thatcher for her support of international law, something not sustained today, We are being let down by politicians, but some who have been supportive of the Palestinian cause were named along with alternative media. Asked about President Trump’s “Board of Peace”, it was considered to be not a serious venture, not least because there is still no genuine ceasefire.
On the question of whether the political classes will be held to account, the speaker’s view was that if not, then might would be right. If the International Court of Justice concludes that genocide has taken place, British politicians may be liable – although, since the Attorney-General was a government appointment he would have to take the case up and this is unlikely to happen. The possibility remains that other countries might decide to prosecute.
Mr. Oborne was thanked for coming to Salisbury and discussing his book.
We have posted a number of items on this site about the horrific events in Gaza and the West Bank. 109 vigils have now taken place in Salisbury attended by many concerned at the scale of death and destruction which has taken place. The current phase started with the horrific attack by Hamas on 7th October 2023 in which over 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 hostages seized. The conflict has deeper roots however going back to the formation of Israel in 1948 and the ensuing killing and displacement of many hundreds of thousands of Arabs and Palestinians: the number is put at between 750,000 and 1 million. Many of those displaced ended up in Gaza. We can go back even further to the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
Gaza is now a wasteland. Over 71,000 have died and around 171,000 injured many with serious wounds. Israel has just revoked the licenses of 37 aid organisations including MSF. There is a peace arrangement of sorts but there does not seem to be any realistic prospect of a permanent end to the hostilities. Israel is the local super power with a considerable armoury of the latest weapons including the F-35 jet. About 15% of the parts for the fighter are made in the UK. Statements from leading Israeli politicians do not show signs of a compromise. The prospects for a Palestinian state look remote.
Complicit
Peter Oborne’s new book ‘Complicit’ looks at Britain’s role in the conflict and the destruction of Gaza. There are two main threads in his book: the role of the government and secondly, the treatment and reporting by the British press and media including the BBC. Part of the way it is reported concerns the language used. We have noted on this site that Hamas seized 251 ‘hostages’ which is correct, but seizures by IDF soldiers of Palestinians are referred to as ‘prisoners’ implying some kind of legal process has taken place. It hasn’t, and over a thousand have been imprisoned and tortured in a variety of prisons with no charges made and no judicial process taking place.
Oborne (pictured: image New Statesman) refers to what he term ‘two tier reporting’. For example the BBC used the word ‘massacre’ eighteen times more for Israeli victims than Palestinian despite the massive difference in numbers. Israel is always described as responding to violence never to initiating it. ‘BBC’s coverage of Gaza has been a reporting disaster and a moral calamity’ he says.They are not the only ones and the roll call of biased reporting includes much of Fleet St and the media more widely.
Chapters include ‘The Pro-Israel Lobby in Britain’, ‘British Complicity Before October 7th’, ‘Moral Panic at Westminster’.
The Event
The talk will take place today, Wednesday 21st January starting at 7pm. It will be held at the Salisbury Methodist Church in St Edmund’s Church Street and is free with a parting collection. There is disabled access and the car park is nearby.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the discounted price of £10. We can only accept cash or a cheque if you live locally.
This is a short list of things we have planned for the coming months. If you were thinking of joining us, one of these would be a good opportunity to come and make yourself known. Joining the group is free.
World Day Against the Death Penalty is on 10 October. The group has focused on Oklahoma this year as part of Amnesty’s campaign of asking groups to focus on a particular state in the Union. There will be a separate post about this shortly. For anyone who wants to be involved with stopping the use of this penalty which is the ultimate cruel punishment and where mistakes cannot be rectified, let us know.
Our annual carol singing takes place on 23 December.
The next group meeting is on 9th October at 2pm in Victoria Road.
We have a coffee morning booked for February next year in St Thomas’s church, Salisbury. Details nearer the time.
Members of the group attend the weekly vigil for peace in the Middle East outside the Library each Saturday starting at 5pm for half an hour.
Keep an eye out here or on Facebook or Bluesky for updates @salisburyai.
Around 55 attended this week’s vigil exceeding last weeks total. More stood and took notice and many photos were taken by passers by. The ‘Honk for Gaza’ sign attracted 32 honks. Several new faces attended which is encouraging. An excellent video of the vigil is available here courtesy of Peter Gloyns. A feature of the vigils is the range of posters and signs that people bring.
Israel is now preparing to launch an offensive to capture Gaza City. Bombing has started already causing many casualties: the total known is now 62,000. Many thousands more lie under the rubble unaccounted for. Over a 1,000 have been shot by IDF soldiers and US mercenaries at the limited food distribution sites fun by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation GHF. What is upsetting many are the scenes of starving children, especially infants below the age of 5, for whom proper food is vital. Interviews with Israeli officials are met with denial. They claim there is no famine and that there is plenty of food available. According to Haaretz, the majority of Israelis are not aware of the famine in Gaza.
The UN declared a famine in part of Gaza this week: it is unable to do so for other areas as it cannot get sufficient data. António Guterres. the UN Secretary General said it was a ‘man made disaster, a moral indictment – and a failure of humanity itself’. Image: UN
We do not have a meeting in August so instead, we meet to have a ‘social’ in the village of Great Durnford near Salisbury. We were blessed by the weather which has been abnormally warm this year, it was just a pity some were away or ill.
Our next meeting is on Thursday 11 September at 2pm in Victoria Road.
An evensong took place this evening (June 23rd) at 5:30 in the Cathedral. The notice on their website does not mention this is the annual evensong in partnership with the Amnesty group.
Exhibition of photographs of the vigils held in Salisbury for peace in Gaza
June 2025
We have posted many times concerning the vigils held in Salisbury Market Place each Saturday at 5pm. Nearly 80 have now been held and there is a regular attendance of around 40 who attend and never less than 30. There is an exhibition of photographs of these vigils starting on 23 June and ending on 19 July at the Methodist Church in St Edmunds Street, Salisbury. They are available to view from 09:30 to noon and at other times when the church is open. We attach a flyer below and if you live in the Salisbury/South Wilts area we ask that you consider displaying it please.
The horror continues with the Independent reporting that 30 were killed by Israeli fire at one of the food points yesterday 31 May. Israel will not allow independent journalists into Gaza so claims are often hard to verify.
The current estimate is that 54,000 have now died in Gaza including many women and children.
Members from groups in the South West gathered in Exeter last Saturday for an interesting day on human rights issues. All credit to the Exeter group who have organised this for several years now enabling us to meet other groups in the region. We held our usual photo opportunity in front of the fine Exeter Cathedral (almost as fine as Salisbury’s!), and this picture was to highlight the problems of being a woman in Afghanistan.
The 61st vigil took place in Salisbury on Saturday 1st February and around 25 attended. With ceasefire still holding and hostages being released, it was hoped that the previous week’s was going to be the last at least for a while. But as we said in a previous post, the seemingly unqualified support for Israel coming from the US, the possible appointment of Mike Huckabee as ambassador and Israel’s decision to cancel the arrangements with Unwra are all bad omens for the future. Unwra are the largest agency by far operating in Gaza and no other agency has the scope or facilities to step into their shoes. There has been a mass return to the north following the ceasefire with thousands returning to rubble where once their homes were. The latest death toll in the territory stands at 46,707 with around 18,000 children having been killed. These figures are underestimates.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 