Contributions
1,541 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesIt is not the first step in relation to sanctions either; this is the third set of sanctions we have announced in relation to settlements in the west bank. On the two-state…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI thank my hon. Friend from the east midlands. He has long been committed to these issues, and particularly to the difficult but vital work of ensuring that civil society in…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesIn this House, we have to be focused on what the real options are for getting aid at volume into Gaza. The truth is that it must be done via land routes, and even when aid gets…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI thank my hon. Friend for her commitment to these issues. Clearly, recognition is right at the centre of any discussion of a two-state solution. The actions we have announced…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesAs I am afraid I say with regularity, I will not speculate on further sanctions on either side of the conflict from the Dispatch Box, but the hon. Gentleman is right that the…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI am grateful for my hon. Friend’s contribution. She went to the region to see with her own eyes, as she did repeatedly as a much-respected journalist and author before she came…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI feel that I need to take issue with the idea that this is the first step that this Government have taken in relation to these issues. I have been at this—10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesIt was not me who talked about first steps. We have taken a sequence of measures, and we will continue to take measures. The blockade of aid into Gaza is reprehensible, and I have…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI called next week’s conference what it is called by the French and Saudi Arabian authorities. I can confirm to the right hon. Gentleman that I have done no deals, grubby or…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesLet me be really clear for the House: we are not selling arms—not bombs, not bullets—for use by Israel in Gaza. We have a carve-out in the F-35 programme in order to maintain the…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesFor the purposes of time, I will not address the legal questions, not least given that they are being considered by a judicial review. We are confident that the limited carve-out…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI recognise the strength of feeling among constituents throughout the country, including those in the city of Lincoln. We go into the two-state solution conference clear in our…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI will not repeat my answers about the conference next week, but my hon. Friend has been committed to these issues for a long time, and she is absolutely right when she says that…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI called on Hamas to return to ceasefire talks when reports reached us that they were not doing so. I hope that those ceasefire talks are successful, and I of course repeat my…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesThe hon. Gentleman is aware of the long-standing position on determinations in respect breaches of international law and crimes. I want to make it clear that our sanctions do not…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesThe hon. Gentleman’s constituent asks a perfectly reasonable question. I often feel frustrated in this House by my inability to say what we are doing diplomatically with our…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI can confirm that we do not need any permission to make policy decisions. I think that if we did, the Israeli Government would have a rather different attitude towards Britain’s…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesMy hon. Friend points to his long record, with which I am familiar, of pressing these points. He is right to say that a two-state solution clearly requires two states. It is vital…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesThe right hon. Gentleman always asks succinct and clear questions. As he will recall, I was a diplomat for a long time. Sanctions are no remedy; they are an expression of a…10 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI thank my hon. Friend for her kind words about both me and officials in the diplomatic service, who have worked tirelessly. As I said in response to another hon. Member, I had…10 Jun 2025