Editorial: Northern Ireland has failed to show solidarity with Israel by projecting images of its flag and colours on key public buildings

​In Downing Street and Westminster, Israeli colours or flag have been projected on to the buildings. In Brandenberg Gate in Berlin, the same, as on the White House in Washington DC and the Eiffel Tower, Paris.

All these leading capital cities and their governments understand what happened last Saturday, when Hamas terrorists launched a wide-ranging attack on Jewish civilians. They were massacred in their cars, at bus stops, in their homes and in their hundreds at a music festival for young people. It was the worst mass murder of Jews since the Nazis in World War II.

Yet on both sides of the Irish border, this unspeakable moment has not been officially marked by displays of solidarity on key public buildings. This is not just due to Sinn Fein and Irish nationalists almost all adopting a position of ‘both sides’ being to blame, but the Alliance Party, whose support would be helpful in these bids (nationalist support would still be needed), told us it would be happy if Belfast City Hall was lit up in white – for all victims of recent violence.

There have already been appalling deaths on both sides of this terrible conflict. But the global outpouring of support for Israel has been rooted in the unprecedented nature of the origins of this latest flaring-up in the Middle East. Israel has never targeted civilians in this way, even Israeli extremists have not done.

Saturday was Hamas anti semitism in action, terrorists who want to annihilate Israel.

The Scottish government has also disgraced itself by not displaying Israeli symbolism. But as you can see, right, its government has stepped in to do so in Edinburgh. The Northern Ireland equivalent, the NIO, can’t because its Belfast base does not have a flagpole – a lamentable situation.