Contributions
1,541 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesLet me be clear from this Dispatch Box: we do not endorse such extremism. I will not speculate about sanctions from the Dispatch Box, but it is clear that should the situation not…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI thank my hon. Friend for the question. She mentions Ukraine. Our actions have consequences. I understand that the House may disagree about the position the Government have set…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesMy hon. Friend was an aid worker and she understands better than most the vital importance of those principles, not just in the middle east but right across the world. I join her…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesIt is a long-standing position that that is for a competent court to determine.04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI cannot bind the French and Canadian Governments from the Dispatch Box, but we were clear that targeted sanctions would follow, among other actions, if there was not an…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI have seen children in Gaza. My Department was able to get two of them out of Gaza last week. [ Interruption. ] I understand the frustration of the House, but do not give the…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI would not want the House to have the impression that Foreign Office Ministers and the whole of the Government were not focused on these issues during the recess. We made…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesWith respect, and I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s commitment to these issues, it was not the badge or the protest that stopped the arms to Gaza. It was the Labour Government.…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI know my right hon. Friend is committed to these issues. Determinations of genocide are for a competent court. I can confirm, as I did to the hon. Member for Bicester and…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI hesitate in my answer because there are quite a few clauses in the question and I do not want to get it wrong. The effect of what I have said in Parliament binds all our export…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI think I have addressed most of those substantive points already. We are clear in our position: we have set it out repeatedly, privately and publicly, and no doubt I will be back…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesThe 22 settlements are not only appalling but illegal. We put in place sanctions against individuals and organisations on 20 May. Clearly, that has not deterred Minister Smotrich…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI do not think that what I have said has been incoherent. On 19 May, we announced leader-level statements, setting out our position. On 20 May, the Foreign Secretary came to the…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI recognise the concern of many constituents across the country, including in the hon. Lady’s constituency. We are obviously in close touch with our counterparts. I was talking to…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesMy hon. Friend asks me if I accept that this is us; I do not accept that this is us. We are in a very serious disagreement with the Israeli Government about the conduct of the…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI thank the hon. Member for that important question. We take these issues very seriously. Our arms export licensing criteria and systems are among the toughest in the world, and…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI thank my hon. Friend, who has raised these issues with me many times and is very focused on them. I completely agree with what he says. Aid must be delivered in a principled…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesWe have talked about these issues many times. They are in the high courts being discussed in a judicial review at the moment. I do not see that this could be any further…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI pay tribute to the work of the hon. Member’s constituents. So many of our constituents, including mine in Lincoln, are doing so much to keep these issues in people’s minds, and…04 Jun 2025HANSARD Israel and the Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesI share my hon. Friend’s concern over events at the Rafah crossing and beyond. The scenes from Gaza are intolerable. I will return to this House when I am in a position to do so.04 Jun 2025