Israel latest: Stephen Nolan asks Edwin Poots if he would have backed starving the nationalist community to punish the IRA

It came about during a heated discussion on the latest escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict on his BBC Radio Ulster show today.

On Saturday, Hamas gunmen from Gaza stormed the border with Israel, penetrating into the surrounding civilian landscape and killing and kidnapping whoever they came across.

Israel – which has essentially controlled the movement of goods and utilities into the Gaza enclave since 2006 – has since declared a “siege” of the area, pledging to cut off fuel, electricity, food and water to its two million residents.

As of this morning, the only power plant in Gaza has run out of fuel.

Here are links to all our coverage of the Israel-Hamas escalation over the last couple of days:

• 'How about a crackdown on terror displays in Northern Ireland' says campaigner as UK government demands action against Hamas supporters

• Israel conflict latest: Northern Irish Jew says 'we tried to warn people about Hamas - they want every last one of us dead'

• Israel conflict latest: INLA-linked group holds roadside vigil in Northern Ireland calling for people to 'support the Palestinian resistance'

• Israel conflict latest: WATCH - Republican group Lasair Dhearg broadcasts the message 'smash the Zionists!' onto Belfast City Hall

• Israel conflict latest: VIDEO FOOTAGE - Crowd in Londonderry chants 'from the river to the sea Palestine will be free' on the same day that UK government warns police to be on lookout for that phrase

• Israel-Hamas conflict: No condolence books, Israeli lighting, or flags for major Northern Irish public buildings

• Belfast-based Palestine campaigner calls Hamas incursion into Israel 'a counter-attack' - Amnesty International states latest escalation was caused by Hamas

• DUP human rights spokesman Jim Shannon MP says Hamas should be 'liquidated' and calls for 'aggressive' police crackdown on signs of support for the group

It was against this backdrop that Mr Nolan invited Mr Poots on (alongside People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll).

Mr Nolan asked “how is it not a form of terrorism” for Israel to cut off vital supplies to a whole urban area.

"Is that a proportionate response?” he asked.

Mr Poots replied that “the first function of any government is to protect its borders and to protect its its people, and therefore, whenever your borders have been infringed and your people have been slaughtered, you're going to have to act”.

He added: “I can't sit there and say that I'm going to like any of the actions that the Israeli government take over the course of the next number of days, because it will be horrific.

"But the Palestinians have these rockets and they're continuing to fire rockets. And until Israel gets to those rockets and takes them out, that action is going to happen.

"And it's hugely unfortunate, but it is brought about wholly and solely because of the actions of Hamas.

"Hamas, the terrorist organisation, uses their own people as human shields. They don't care about their own women, they don't care about their own children, they don't care how many of them die because that will get them more support – the more Israel bombs, the more support they'll get. So they don't care."

Mr Nolan asked: “Would you have supported the British government cutting off water supply to the nationalist community in order to stop the IRA?

"Listen, the answer to that is no, right? But somehow, because it's the other side of the world you can't bring yourself to criticise the Israeli government doing just that to innocent citizens.”

"To be very clear,” replied Mr Poots. “I think the British Army should have taken stronger sanctions against the IRA over the time, and indeed the security forces in general.

"However, they did infiltrate the IRA very successfully… and it was as a result of that there that the IRA had to come to the negotiating table.

"There is no means of actually engaging with a terrorist organisation other than taking the terrorist organisation out.

"How do you expect the Israeli government to react to when they see their citizens being kidnapped, being bombed, being killed?”