Middle East
08 Jun 2026 · Commons Chamber · 90 speeches · Official record
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As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams), we will pursue any angle we can against operations taking place here in the UK. It is important to be clear that we have very much led the way with the sanctions that we have imposed. Most countries obviously do not sanction individual members of the Israeli Government, but we have done so because we were so appalled by the incitement by those individuals. As the hon. Member will know, one of those Minister... Full speech
We are pursuing that issue. We do not want any illegal settlements to be advertised in the UK and we do not want any businesses to be engaging with that. Full speech
Yes, that will be a priority for discussions in Paris. The other thing that the Paris event will seek to do is to bring together Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups. As well as trying to reinvigorate the international coalition and energy behind the peace process for not just Gaza but the west bank, the event seeks to bring together civil society groups from Palestine and Israel to stand together for peace. Full speech
One of the most depressing things about these statements is the profound damage that they do to British national interests and our standing in the world through their pathetic delusion. On Gaza, could the Foreign Secretary confirm that she is aware that in the last two weeks Israeli Ministers have made clear their desire for the mass emigration of Palestinians from the territory, and that we should see the stranglehold they have imposed in that context? Could the Foreign Secretary also confirm t... Full speech
We are clear about the fact that settlements are illegal and are undermining peace. We do not want trade with illegal settlements, and we want to deter support for those settlements. Such support includes financial engagement, and it also includes the charitable organisations that should not be engaging either. That is why we have set out new sanctions today, and stronger business advice. Of course we distinguish between illegal settlements and trade with businesses and organisations across Isra... Full speech
As I mentioned to the Minister for the Middle East last week, not all of the Shi’a community in Lebanon support Hezbollah or Iran, and the majority do not support violence; they want to live in peace like all of us, whatever country we are in. The Foreign Secretary will know that the Amal movement is a Shi’a political movement. While it is not a benign movement, it is probably a better interlocutor than Hezbollah to work with in rebuilding the whole nation of Lebanon-subject to conditions-which ... Full speech
The hon. Member will know that RAF Fairford is a US base. We were clear at the beginning of this conflict that we would not support the use of the base for offensive action against Iran as part of the conflict. Once Iran started to strike Gulf partners, including their civilian infrastructure-their airports and other assets-and to put lives at risk, including those of British citizens, we provided support for air defences directly. UK assets provided that support and we enabled basing support fo... Full speech
The Government are clear that part of what we are doing with this package of additional sanctions is targeting businesses and organisations that are facilitating the operations in the illegal settlements. We believe that the sanctions regime needs to be strengthened to allow us to go further in different areas, and we need to work with other countries on that. It is obviously important to distinguish between what is happening in the illegal settlements, and trade right across Israel; the specifi... Full speech
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement and the measures that she has announced today, but I want to come back to her strong advice to businesses that we should not conduct any economic and financial activities in illegal Israeli settlements, rather than having an outright ban. We know a ban is possible, because we did it for illegally occupied territories in Ukraine, and we know it is the right thing to do, because when it comes to trading in ivory, firearms or narcotics, we ban it outright... Full speech
In the face of consistent, sustained and systematic war crimes, violations and abuses by the Israeli Government, the Secretary of State has today announced further piecemeal sanctions and guidance, which go nowhere near acknowledging the reality that the most important sponsor, financer, protector, supporter and cheerleader of that illegal settlement expansion is the Israeli state itself. Sanctioning a few organisations ignores the reality of where the power lies in this situation. Is it not lon... Full speech
My hon. Friend will know that the Justice Secretary brought in new restrictions on arms sales to Israel because of our concerns about ensuring that we always stand up for international law. We have been one of the world’s leading countries in introducing sanctions, including on individual Israeli Government Ministers. She refers to some of the concerns about expanding illegal settlements, and I agree with her about the dangers of the E1 project, which is clearly illegal and damaging to peace. I ... Full speech
I was recently on a cross-party visit to Israel and Palestine. We met the Norwegian Refugee Council and talked about the issue of dual use items, where the Israeli Government do not let certain items into Gaza because they argue they can be used for terrorist purposes. That includes situations where young children are able to leave Gaza to get hearing implants in countries such as Jordan, but are then not allowed back into Gaza because the component parts are considered to be dual use items. Wha... Full speech
We share the view that the settlements are illegal and undermine peace. We want to prevent trade with illegal settlements and discourage anyone, including UK businesses as well as those from around the world, from supporting those settlements. That is why we are using our sanctions regime to target some of the issues around the settlements, and why we are looking at other ways of strengthening our sanctions regime. We will continue to work with allies across the world on this matter. Other count... Full speech
It is exactly because of that review, which was commissioned immediately after we came into government, that we suspended a whole series of arms export licences. We took practical steps, just as we have done in providing additional aid and support, and in introducing whole swathes of sanctions-this is our fourth round in this area-and we will continue to do that. To get overall impact, however, we need an international coalition; no one country can do it alone. The impact that was felt in the au... Full speech
I do not seek to offend the Foreign Secretary, but how can we lecture businesses in the United Kingdom about morality when we are witnessing a genocide? Even if they are considering only the risk of a genocide, the Government should take steps to prevent that, such as cutting off all trade, and we still supply components to the F-35 programme. We recently witnessed five British citizens being tortured, sexually assaulted and dumped in Greece. A seven-month-old child was murdered in the hands of ... Full speech
We welcome the new sanctions, but the issue of illegality goes much deeper than these now-sanctioned organisations. The illegal settlements in the west bank are state sponsored, state financed and state protected. That is also the case for the settler violence that inevitably follows, which is carried out with almost complete impunity. Why have the Government chosen to sanction these particular organisations, but decided not to take further action against the Netanyahu regime in the face of its ... Full speech
We have clearly set out the strengthened business advice, but we are also strengthening our sanctions regime to directly target organisations, including international organisations, deliberately facilitating and funnelling resources to illegal settlements where we have seen really disturbing settler violence. We are looking at ways to strengthen our sanctions regime, and we will go further in setting out new sanctions and pursuing sanctions enforcement. We will also continue to work with allies ... Full speech
A constituent wrote to me as he was deeply concerned that the British public had been misled about the UK’s involvement in the US conflict with Iran. His sister lives next to RAF Fairford and reported 24/7 use of the base by US bomber flights in May after the ceasefire. Residents were experiencing constant aircraft movements and noise, with little or no respite. Constant use of the base does not appear to be consistent with facilitating “specific and limited defensive action against missile faci... Full speech
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement and the fourth package of sanctions against the groups supporting the extremist Israeli settlers. I also welcome the strengthened guidance that no UK businesses should have any financial or economic links with illegal settlements-although many of my constituents would prefer to see an outright ban, because they are seeing the continued expansion of illegal settlements. Just last week, Minister Smotrich announced more than 2,000 new homes in and around ... Full speech
Once again, British citizens taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla-a peaceful aid mission to break the illegal blockade of Gaza-have been severely mistreated by the Israeli Government. This is beyond dispute, with video evidence of a far-right Israeli Minister mocking activists while they are bound and on their knees, as the Foreign Secretary referred to earlier. The Italian Government have opened an investigation into the incident and the EU is expected to vote on sanctions next Monday; I am... Full speech
Last week, tenders for the expansion of the unlawful E1 settlements were launched, involving nearly 3,500 housing units, directly flouting international law and also putting the viability of a Palestinian state at risk. Moreover, as we have heard, on the 14th of this month there will be a real estate deal in London, which is about marketing the purchase of Palestinian land in the occupied west bank, including the Gush Etzion settlement-again, flouting international law, in this city. I welcome t... Full speech
Can the Foreign Secretary explain the “multi” bit of the multinational maritime mission, because so far all I see are contributions from France and the UK? In particular, she said that she had spoken to her interlocutors last week in China and India. One is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the other is a member of the G20, and both of them stand to suffer far more than the UK and France do from a cessation of trade in oil, gas and fertiliser. What assets will China and India be pro... Full speech
Israeli Ministers have reconfirmed what we have all known: it is their intention to settle Jewish settlers in southern Lebanon, as they have done in the west bank and are doing in Gaza. The E1 project will bury the idea of a Palestinian state forever. This is something that many of us have known for a long time, and we are seeing-in real time-ethnic cleansing and war crimes being committed as part of the greater Israel project. This Sunday, there will be a real estate event on UK soil that will ... Full speech
I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we make ongoing assessments. We take immensely seriously our obligations relating to strategic export licences under international humanitarian law and ensure that assessments continue to be made. That is one of the reasons we suspended arms exports to Israel in a series of areas soon after this Government came to office-it was exactly because we took that so seriously-and, as I understand it, why we also published legal advice at that time. Full speech
Earlier this month, an Israeli soldier shot dead a seven-month-old baby, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, and wounded his parents in the occupied west bank. UNICEF reports that, far from being an accident, violence against Palestinian children has reached levels not seen in decades. Given the difficulty that even the United States, Israel’s closest ally, has in restraining Netanyahu’s actions across the middle east, when will the Government bring in stronger measures, including sanctions, and do more to ens... Full speech
I call the Chair of the Select Committee. Full speech
The Secretary of State in her statement-in her own words-talked of Netanyahu’s condemnation of settler violence as being “hollow”. Will she allow the Great Israeli Real Estate Event to proceed on UK soil this weekend? If she does, could she not be accused of the same thing? Full speech
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement, and I share the Government’s condemnation of the illegal settlements that are systematically destroying any prospect of a Palestinian state. Of course, settlements do not build themselves; they require money, insurance and trade, and I therefore welcome the changed guidance to British citizens that they should not conduct any economic or financial activity in the settlements, but the question really is, “What happens if they do?” Currently, the truth ... Full speech
I agree with the Foreign Secretary’s statement, and I agreed with the Government’s decision, which I supported from day one, to stay out of this totally counterproductive war. I hope that we have all learnt our lesson and that we are never going to listen to liberal imperialists or neocons, with their endless wars over regime change in the middle east, all of which have been a disaster-Syria, Libya, Iraq and now Iran. What influence do we have on the Trump Administration? They are the only peopl... Full speech
My hon. Friend rightly raised the deeply distressing case I mentioned in the statement of a seven-month-old baby killed in his mother’s arms. He was also right to highlight the number of Palestinian children who have lost their lives. The problem is that even where there has been either investigation or condemnation by the Israeli Government, there is often impunity and a complete lack of accountability. It is vital that where there are such cases and issues, there is proper investigation and ac... Full speech
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement, and in particular the fresh wave of sanctions she announced, as well as the new measures against British businesses and charities that fund and support illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine. This morning, I and other MPs met former members of the Israel Defence Forces who served in Gaza, and they gave us some pretty shocking testimony. They told us that their rules of engagement were to allow the killing of more than 20 civilians for e... Full speech
The multinational maritime mission is led by the UK and France. We have set out and been looking at particular assets that can be provided as part of the mission. It is, of course, multilateral-the point is that it needs to include a range of different countries. We have had discussions with Ukraine, as have many Gulf countries, because of its particular expertise in drones and modern technology in terms of air defences, and support has been provided for some of the Gulf partners. The precise as... Full speech
Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. It is now over 100 days since this conflict began, yet Iran continues to pose the most dangerous and significant threat to the middle east, peace and security and the interests of Britain and our allies and friends in the region. In recent days, we have seen the most appalling Iranian attack in Kuwait, causing injury and death at Kuwait International airport, and we have seen Iran launch missiles towards Israel. It continues to obstruct the... Full speech
We need Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza. It is just horrifying that families are going without the food and medical support that they desperately need. I have discussed this many times, including with the US Administration and of course directly with Israel. Immediately after the 20-point plan, there was an increase in aid as a result of the international commitment, but since the start of this year that has plummeted again. That is why I believe we need the international... Full speech
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement confirming that she has strengthened our business risk guidance to make it clearer and unambiguous. To labour the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed), however, we know that settlements are illegal, so why are the Government only publishing guidance to businesses? We do not simply issue guidance to stop businesses trading in ivory, illegal firearms or narcotics-we ban them, as we have banned businesses fro... Full speech
I am sorry to say that the sanctions and actions announced today will not prevent Israel from continuing to act with impunity and committing one war crime after another. On Friday, I received a reply from the Foreign Office to a letter that I sent three months ago on the UN commission of inquiry findings that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In that reply, the Minister for the Middle East stated: “as soon as this Government took office, we ordered a review into Israel’s compliance with int... Full speech
I welcome the dedication and commitment of the Foreign Secretary and my hon. Friend the Minister for the middle east in trying to advance this issue in line with the will of this House. Only too sadly, it is no surprise to many of us that, while the eyes of the world have been largely focused on Iran, we have seen the abuses continue and get worse in Gaza and the west bank. That is a deliberate strategy of the Israeli Government. We often talk about settler violence, but this is state-supported ... Full speech
The right hon. Member will know that after the election we introduced new and strong arms export controls to cover anything that could be used in operations in Gaza, including anything that might breach international law. We have been clear about that. The right hon. Member raises the issue of the yellow line in Gaza, which I am deeply troubled about. We have heard Prime Minister Netanyahu talking about trying to seek 70% control of Gaza, when the 20-point plan involved full withdrawal. I am wor... Full speech
I welcome the update on the new and co-ordinated sanctions announced by the Foreign Secretary today. According to the United Nations, its figures show that violent incidents perpetrated by illegal Israeli settlers in the west bank reached an all-time high last autumn-for the shameful reason that the attacks reach their peak when there are fresh olive harvests to destroy. This behaviour is state sanctioned, and settlements are state sponsored and state financed. This Government accept that the se... Full speech
My hon. Friend is exactly right, and he is right to champion the farmers in his constituency. The closure of the strait of Hormuz risks impacting on the cost of living right across the globe. That is why we have made the reopening of the strait central to what needs to be achieved in a peace settlement. It has to be full and unconditional, and not just a partial reopening, because it is so important to get the fertiliser, the oil and the different commodities flowing again. We must also look fur... Full speech
The Father of the House is right. We took a different view to that of the US and Israel at the start of this conflict, and we did not get drawn into offensive operations against Iran. We did take defensive action to support Gulf partners when they were under attack from Iran, but we took a different view at the start of this conflict, and I believe that was the right thing for the UK to do and was in the UK’s interest. The US remains a close security partner and ally, and I have many conversatio... Full speech
We are pursuing that particular event. If we find any cases where there are breaches of UK law, we will also pursue them. The wider issue is that nobody in the UK should be advertising illegal settlements. Nobody should be pursuing illegal settlements. No businesses or organisations should be getting involved in them. We have shown our willingness and determination to impose sanctions on organisations that do, just as we have set out today. We will continue to do further sanctions where we have ... Full speech
We have raised exactly this issue many times directly with the Israeli Government, the Civil-Military Coordination Center and the US Administration, because the hon. Lady is completely right: we are ending up with basic medical equipment being turned down because somehow it could be treated as dual use, or tent poles for basic shelter being turned down because somehow they could be dual use. That is deeply damaging and they are different standards to the ones that applied even 12 months ago. Eve... Full speech
We have been clear that having an impact on what happens in Gaza and the west bank depends on building international consensus and taking multiple actions. The right hon. Member complains about what this Government have done, but he should consider for a second the things that we have done that his Government refused to do. We have restored and increased funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, suspended arms licences for use in Gaza, dropped the challenge to the International Crim... Full speech
I do agree with my hon. Friend. What is going on is being talked about as, in effect, annexation of parts of the west bank. It is not simply about a small rogue group going against the intentions of the Israeli Government. The E1 settlement has been authorised and promoted by the Israeli Government, yet it is illegal. It goes against any prospects for peace and security in the region. Frankly, it is ultimately damaging for the security of Israel as well as for peace, security and justice for the... Full speech
It is exactly because of our deep concern about the illegal settlements, and also about the escalating scale of settler violence, that we have introduced the new sanctions, which go after the organisations that have the greatest impact in terms of funding and organisational support for the settlers, where we have seen these serious problems. We have also strengthened the issues around business, because no businesses from the UK should be trading or engaging in economic activity in these illegal ... Full speech
Apart from the Netanyahu fan club on the Tory Front Bench, most right hon. and hon. Members condemn the appalling and murderous actions of his far-right regime. However, the Foreign Secretary surely recognises that Netanyahu is laughing behind his hands as Israel easily bypasses the flimsy trade and arms sanctions that the UK Government have introduced. She talks about building an international consensus, but is it not time to take stronger action and, in building that consensus, to propose the ... Full speech
The hon. Gentleman will know that the 20-point plan included the development of an international stabilisation force that was effectively about bringing peacekeepers into Gaza. That has not yet happened, partly because there simply has not been enough progress in certain areas, as well as in respect of the humanitarian aid, which is just basic. We have promoted the argument that the decommissioning of Hamas’s weapons needs to reflect the experience in Northern Ireland. Some of the processes are ... Full speech
I welcome my hon. Friend’s points, because in order to have a state of Palestine, we need to support the Palestinian Authority to become a functioning and effective state. That includes funding, but it also includes pressure, because the Israeli Government are currently withholding Palestinian money, and that money needs to be restored to it. We need to be able to support the Palestinian economy as well. Full speech
I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of her statement. The steps announced by the Government today are important and right. British businesses and charities have to know that engaging with or sustaining settlements in the west bank is illegal and unacceptable. The updated business risk guidance is therefore correct, but it is overdue-the Dutch Government issued a similar discouragement notice in 2006, 20 years ago-and also insufficient. The Government should have used this moment to a... Full speech
China and India are not part of the multinational maritime mission. We have been doing two things to maintain the principle of freedom of navigation. With France, we have been developing the multilateral mission. There are other countries ready to provide assets, some of which have been set out and some of which will be announced in due course as they are needed. We have also convened countries-including the 40 that I convened before Easter-to raise the consensus around and continue to defend th... Full speech
The account that my hon. Friend provides is deeply disturbing. We know that there has been systematic disregard for civilian life. We have seen the huge numbers of people killed in Gaza, including huge numbers of children. At different stages in the conflict, we saw people shot at while queuing for the most basic food. People who were desperate to feed their families ended up being shot at and losing their lives. There has to be accountability and there have to be investigations. There also has ... Full speech
Does the Foreign Secretary accept that repeatedly saying that a terrorist group must do something does not make it happen? When she says that Hezbollah “must end these dangerous attacks and disarm”, does she expect this to happen voluntarily, and if not, how does she expect it to be brought about? Full speech
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. What exactly are the Brits going to contribute to the multinational maritime mission in terms of hardware? Has Ukraine offered up its two Sandown-class mine-clearing vessels and crew, which are currently in Portsmouth? Full speech
I thank my hon. Friend for her representations around the medevac scheme, which I strongly support. I know of and have looked at cases where children have been able to bring more family members than that. If she has individual cases, then she should raise them, but I know there are many cases where children have come with both parents from Gaza. We will make further announcements in due course around the medevac scheme. There are also many children who may not have the most life-threatening cond... Full speech
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. We know that over 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza, and 21,000 have lifechanging injuries. We made a commitment that will bring around 300 children to the UK to have urgent surgery to aid them. Last week, I met two of those children. They had two specific pleas. First, we should expand the scheme and bring over the 4,000 children who are waiting and need our medical care. Secondly, children can bring only one parent; they want both their p... Full speech
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. Full speech
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement. Though I appreciate that the ban on trade with illegal settlements may be complicated, it is our moral duty to overcome those complications. Conflict creates very serious issues for some of the poorest countries in the world, which cannot withstand the energy and food crisis shocks, and that creates a risk of further conflict and instability-for example, in sub-Saharan Africa. What steps has my right hon. Friend taken with international allies to addr... Full speech
Hezbollah is a dangerous terrorist organisation. It is undermining the security of the people of Lebanon. We support the Lebanese Government and the Lebanese armed forces in taking action against Hezbollah. We are providing them with direct support, including funding and capabilities support, because we believe it is hugely important that they should be able to do this with international support. We also think, frankly, that Iran should be putting pressure on its proxies, rather than using proxi... Full speech
Frankly, the measures announced today, while necessary, do not go anywhere near far enough. They will not stop the genocide in Gaza, they will not stop the war crimes in Gaza, and they certainly will not stop the continuation of illegal settlements. What real, concrete measures can the Foreign Secretary announce here today? She stated earlier, to a number of colleagues who asked the question, that she wants to see an end to trade with illegal settlements. Well, that is in her gift, because she c... Full speech
We have continual discussions with the US Secretary of State, and we have continual engagement with the US Administration on the support for reaching a peace settlement. That includes the full and unconditional reopening of the strait of Hormuz and, of course, preventing Iran from getting a settlement. We have also discussed with the US the importance of the ceasefire in Lebanon, and of not allowing what is happening in Lebanon to destabilise the wider peace agreement. I have had those discussio... Full speech
Let us just imagine that, this weekend in our capital city, there was a “great Russian real estate event” selling off Ukrainian land. Quite rightly and without hesitation, the Government would move to ban such an illegal event. This weekend in London, there is the Great Israeli Real Estate Event, openly advertising the illegal sale of land in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. Given that the Government rightly recognised the state of Palestine, surely we should now move to ban this ... Full speech
With permission, I will make a statement on the middle east-first on the Iran conflict and Lebanon, and secondly on the situation in Palestine. May I apologise to the shadow Foreign Secretary, to you and to the House for the delay in sending across a copy of the statement? This weekend, we saw worrying and dangerous escalation, with Lebanese Hezbollah continuing to fire into northern Israel, Israeli strikes against southern areas of Beirut, and the direct exchange of missiles between Iran and Is... Full speech
Like my hon. Friend, I was appalled to see how people were being treated in that video. It did not meet the most basic standards of humanity and respect for other human beings. It is particularly shocking that not only was that mistreatment happening, but it was being promoted and flaunted by an Israeli Government Minister. I can confirm that the Minister, Ben-Gvir, is sanctioned by the UK Government; we were one of the first countries to sanction him, and we will continue to do so. The behaviou... Full speech
I welcome the sanctions and guidance that the Secretary of State has set out. Given the scale and pace of settlements, can we ensure that the sanctions are regularly reviewed? I agree with colleagues that a ban on settlement trade should be looked at again. The London property conference sounds really concerning. What sanctions will be put in place if property is being sold on occupied land? Full speech
We will continue to keep all our sanctions under review and to build on the sanctions regimes we have in place. We have led the world on sanctions and done more on this than most other countries around the world. Wherever possible, we have built partnerships to involve and include other countries to get them to sign up to similar sanctions as well, because, frankly, that is the best way to have an impact. Full speech
It is exactly because we are so deeply concerned about the expansion of illegal settlements in the west bank, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the responsibility of the Israeli Government to uphold the 20-point plan, which is not happening at the moment in Gaza, to withdraw from the illegal settlements in the west bank and to lift their chokehold on the Palestinian Authority that we have taken action, including sanctions and leading the way internationally. We are one of the few co... Full speech
The expansion of the illegal settlements is not only deeply wrong, because Palestinians are being forced from their own land, sometimes in the most brutal of circumstances, but deliberately designed to try to make it impossible to ever get to a two-state solution. That is the purpose for some of those involved, and we should be very clear on that and call it out for what it is. That is why it is so important not only to strengthen the condemnation of the illegal settlements and the expansions, b... Full speech
As I set out earlier, the UK has introduced sanctions against individual members of the Netanyahu Government, something that very few countries across the world have actually done. We believe that is the right thing to do because of the seriousness of what they have done and the seriousness of the situation around illegal settlements. The hon. Gentleman is right that this is about international law more widely, but also, specifically, the peace and security of the middle east. We know that there... Full speech
The right hon. Member is right that we need an inclusive process in Lebanon that brings all groups and communities together but excludes Hezbollah, Iranian-backed proxies and terrorist and extremist groups. The group that he mentioned is led by Speaker Berri, who met my hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East as part of his recent visit. We will continue to engage with that movement and more widely with the Lebanese Government about the importance of bringing all communities together so tha... Full speech
We have strongly distinguished between the illegal settlements and the Israeli state. We also distinguish between the illegal settlements and businesses in all parts of Israel that have long traded across the world, including with the UK, many of whose owners or investors may strongly disagree with things that the Israeli Government are doing or with illegal settlements and settler violence. It is important to separate out Israeli businesses more widely and the specific issue of illegal settleme... Full speech
In Gaza, the west bank and Lebanon, Israel continues to violate international law with total impunity. I welcome the Secretary of State’s actions against individuals and networks that enable settler violence, but it just does not go far enough. Why will she not at least commit to banning all trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and introduce a comprehensive sanctions regime against the Israeli state? Full speech
Those clinging to life in Gaza and scratching an existence in the west bank merely occupy different circles within the depths of the inferno. Any relief is dependent on the policy of Israel, and that in turn would require pressure from its principal ally, the United States of America. What is the Secretary of State’s estimate of any prospect of that? Full speech
Today, we have introduced new, strong sanctions against organisations that are operating, fuelling funds or trading in the illegal settlements. We have different sanctions regimes, including geographic and thematic regimes. We believe that the regimes need to be strengthened, and we are looking at ways to do that that give us more flexibility to respond to different circumstances. Obviously, in the case of what is happening in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, we want to be able t... Full speech
I welcome the new package of important sanctions announced by the Foreign Secretary. As I raised with Government Ministers last week, and as I discussed with the Foreign Secretary last night, last week I submitted a formal complaint to the Charity Commission about 32 UK charities that have over the past five years funnelled some £28 million to illegal Israeli settlements. The research into that was conducted jointly with Israeli human rights organisations. They include UK Toremet, which currentl... Full speech
The Foreign Secretary will know that the ongoing violence continues to take a horrific toll on civilian populations across Lebanon, Gaza and the wider region. Given our legal obligations under the strategic export licensing criteria, what assessment have the Government made of the risk of UK-supplied components being used in violations of international humanitarian law? Will the Government publish those assessments so that they can be properly scrutinised? Will they now take the decisive step to... Full speech
At the moment, the Palestinian people are allowed to occupy only 40% of the Gaza strip, and that figure will go down to 30% next month if Netanyahu has his way. Israel is bombarding-through settlers and its own violence-the people of the west bank, and it is also now occupying a large part of southern Lebanon. The House needs to know exactly what the nature of the security relationship is between Britain and Israel. What information is shared, what weapons are supplied, and why are we still supp... Full speech
I agree with the Foreign Secretary that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is grave and that renewed international energy and focus are required if the level of humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza is to be increased with the urgency the situation demands. With that in mind, will she ensure that increased international co-operation and immediate action to ameliorate the situation will be a key priority of the discussions held in Paris later this week? Full speech
I welcome the work my hon. Friend has done on how charity systems are abused to funnel support to illegal settlements. She has rightly raised that issue not just with me but with the Culture Secretary and directly with the Charity Commission. The Minister for the Middle East will be meeting the CEO of the Charity Commission tomorrow to pursue exactly this issue to ensure there is a thorough investigation. Some evidence suggests that rules are being broken. We should not end up with UK gift aid b... Full speech
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. I want to thank the Minister for the middle east for agreeing with me last week when I referred to the forced displacement of people by Israel as a war crime, and I am grateful for that. I also commend my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for her sterling work in raising the issue of charities, which was reflected in the statement. I want to press the Foreign Secretary when she says that “businesses should not con... Full speech
President Trump spoke to the BBC yesterday and said that his relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu was such that: “If I tell him to do something, he does it.” It is all very well for the British Government to make contingency plans, such as with the multinational planning conference at Permanent Joint Headquarters Northwood at the end of April, but that will be a mere displacement activity if there is no peace deal. What is the Foreign Secretary doing to encourage Washington to demand restr... Full speech
I add my voice to others across the House in urging for stronger actions on Israeli war crimes. Fertiliser is a key issue, not just in my constituency but across the world. I have spoken to a lot of local farmers who are deeply concerned that not only do they feel the pinch already, but that that will shortly pass on to UK consumers and drive up the already spiking cost of living. Will the Foreign Secretary outline some steps that she is taking to make sure that more fertiliser is available in o... Full speech
I agree with my hon. Friend that the closure of the strait of Hormuz is having an impact on oil across the world, as it is on fertiliser, including for sub-Saharan Africa. Some states, according to their level of dependency on different supply chains, are particularly heavily affected by that impact on the global economy. We are closely monitoring which countries are affected and directly raising that with the World Bank and other organisations, while making sure that our official development as... Full speech
I thank the hon. Member for his comments, including his comments on the importance of the recognition of the state of Palestine. We should always be clear about the fact that there is no alternative to a two-state solution if any peace and security are to be established in the region, which is why it is crucial that we work to maintain the prospects of such a solution now. The hon. Member referred to the sanctions regimes. We are not just looking to continue to increase the number of targeted sa... Full speech
I would warn any businesses against associating themselves with potential breaches of international law, and also against becoming involved in a process that is undermining peace and security for the region. As for the operations in London, which were also mentioned by the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller), we will pursue any issues that we can raise relating to anything that might be in breach of the law. However, I think that organisations, including businesses-and particul... Full speech
Order. Members will have noticed that this statement has been going on for quite some time. I ask Members to keep their questions short and the Foreign Secretary to keep her answers shorter. Full speech
A prohibition must be brought in to finally deal with British firms such as JCB, which for decades has been involved in settlement construction and the demolition of Palestinian homes. The Secretary of State has not confirmed why a full ban on settlement goods has not been brought in. When she says that the practicalities are too complex, the British public see only a Government dragging their heels. Will she clarify what those practicalities are? Once again, why is it possible to have a full ba... Full speech
We are announcing these sanctions, which go further than ever before in targeting the organisations that are effectively facilitating, promoting, encouraging and developing illegal settlements. We want to continue to go further on sanctions and look at ways to strengthen our sanctions regime, so that we can go further and can put on additional pressure. Look, individual countries can take particular action on things such as sanctions in different ways-the trade issues we have discussed and so on... Full speech
Let me begin with the points that the shadow Foreign Secretary raised on Iran. We agree, I think, on the dangers and risks from Iran. We have seen the threats and the unprovoked strikes against the Gulf and against our Gulf partners, as well as attacks on civilian infrastructure and energy infrastructure and the operations and attacks through proxies across the region and more widely, including the attacks on Israel. That is why we have extensive sanctions against Iran, and why we have always be... Full speech
Does my right hon. Friend agree that what we need to help the Palestinian Authority is the opposite of the approach that she has rightly outlined for British companies, individuals, organisations and charities regarding the illegal west bank settlements? By that I mean that we need companies, individuals and others to be encouraged, and indeed empowered, to help the Palestinian Authority with rebuilding, economic development, governance and more. As she has said, that would “reinforce the unity ... Full speech