Contributions
1,541 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI am glad that the hon. Gentleman was able to travel; as I have said before from the Dispatch Box, I recognise the importance of Members from across the House seeing these…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentMy hon. Friend asks important questions, and I know that he follows these issues closely. The most up-to-date and authoritative assessment of those questions is Monday’s IPC…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI agree with the hon. Gentleman about the horrors of what Hamas have done, and the ugly and unacceptable rhetoric they have often employed, not just towards Israelis but towards…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI know that my hon. Friend has an incredibly brave and courageous constituent who is herself a member of a hostage family. Whenever I have seen her, her words ring in my ears, as…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentIt is obviously inappropriate to try to rehearse submissions that are currently being heard by the court.14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI do understand the frustration of constituents; as I said earlier, that frustration is shared in Lincoln and across the country. Everybody in this House and everybody across the…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentThose three points have already been put to me over the course of the afternoon, so I will not repeat my answers, and I will not speculate on further sanctions. However, as the…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentWhere Hamas have interfered with aid deliveries, I condemn that utterly. We have to be clear that considerable amounts of aid were not allowed into Gaza, even before this most…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentWe have taken action, as I have described this afternoon. I have already assured the House that it is certainly not fear that shapes our actions. I am always happy to return to…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI am the Minister; these responsibilities weigh particularly heavily on me. I am not blind to the IPC or to Tom Fletcher’s testimony at a session that we called. Do hon. Members…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentThe House has heard me speak of my frustration on a number of occasions—I share that with my hon. Friend. I think I have addressed the three substantive points that he raises…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentThe hon. Gentleman refers to the hostages. Some of the released hostages have made this argument with the greatest force, and they are important words. Let me say concretely and…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI have outlined some of the action, but I reassure my hon. Friend that we are not waiting for legal determinations, not least because the ICJ has issued provisional measures, and…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentDeeds, not words. We are restoring funding to UNRWA, suspending arms licences and giving £129 million in humanitarian assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI condemn Hamas and their actions entirely. Israel is an ally, but we say to all our allies that international humanitarian law is a binding framework for us all. When it is…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI have set out the process of determination, the provisional measures that have been issued by the ICJ and the Government’s determination not to wait until cases are concluded but…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI will resist my hon. Friend, who is not just a doughty advocate for the Palestinian people but a respected lawyer. As he would expect, I am not going to take the opportunity to…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentThe House has heard me talk about sanctions in the same terms over a long period of time. I understand my hon. Friend’s frustration about my not being able to speculate from the…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentWe take serious steps to ensure that Hamas do not get access to aid. We supported a review into the function of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentMy right hon. Friend raises incredibly important points about journalists and I am happy to take up the case in question. Not just journalists but a whole set of people are…14 May 2025