A BRADFORD university professor has spoken about the importance of peace as tensions rise over the violence in Israel and Gaza.

Speaking on behalf of the University of Bradford, Professor PB Anand, head of the Department of Peace Studies and International Development, said that staff, students and the wider University of Bradford community were in "deep shock and pain" over the escalation of violence. 

"We know that this is a complex and protracted conflict but at this moment our thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones," he said. 

"The university founded the first Peace Studies Department in the UK in 1973 - that was the very year that Israel faced the Yom Kippur War.

“The quest for long-lasting peace remains as valid today as it was in 1973.  Violence can never be a solution or a tool to resolve political differences.

“Our department has over many years developed a large alumni network with peacemakers from across all the communities of Israel and Palestine, many of them at the forefront of innovative thinking and practice about peacebuilding.

“We will continue to support them in their work at this most challenging and perilous time."

The university's counselling and mental health services and interfaith chaplaincy teams are available to support any student or member of staff who has been affected by the conflict.