COUNTY MP Stephen Crabb has backed Israel's right to defend itself and condemned Hamas and Hezbollah as "radical islamic terrorists."

Mr Crabb recently returned from a visit to the volatile region shortly before an Israeli soldier was captured by Hamas, sparking the current conflict.

Mr Crabb said: "We would not live with daily shelling and rocket attacks on our borders. We cannot expect the government of Israel to sit back and allow its citizens to be attacked in this way."

Mr Crabb and a party of four other MPs held meetings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and toured military positions on the border with Palestine.

Mr Crabb also visited the security barrier between the warring neighbours.

He said: "The overwhelming feeling was that there were some difficult times approaching. But I did not expect that, within a few weeks, we would see this level of conflict.

"I am clear in my mind that Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon are not freedom fighters; they are radical Islamic terrorist organisations funded by foreign powers.

"I believe that the Palestinian cause, which deserves our full support, is being undermined by the activities of these groups."

Mr Crabb said many Palestinians want to resume negotiations with Israel to secure a complete withdrawal the first step towards an independent Palestinian state.

"But the current Palestinian government does not even recognise the right of Israel to exist and refuses to renounce terror attacks. The current scenario is very gloomy indeed."