The petition of residents of the constituency of Linlithgow and East Falkirk,
Declares that the crisis in Gaza has already resulted in thousands of deaths and shows no sign of a resolution; further declares that UNRWA has warned that not enough aid is entering the besieged Gaza strip, and that a quarter of the Gazan population has been determined as an IPC Stage 5 crisis, which means that they are under immediate threat of death from starvation and destitution; notes that whilst the allegations against the 12 employees of the UNRWA are serious and must be investigated thoroughly, the UNRWA operates in the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan as well as Gaza, and the UK government publishing civilians in these places by pausing funding will have significant humanitarian repercussions.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the UK Government to help protect the rights and lives of those affected by the War in Gaza by reallocating funds to the UNRWA to ensure the immediate deliverance of humanitarian assistance to address the adverse threat to life of Palestinians.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Martyn Day, Official Report, 25 March 2024; Vol. 747, c. 1360.]
[P002942]
Observations from the Minister for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, United Nations and the Commonwealth (Lord Ahmad):
The UK wants an immediate stop in fighting to get much needed humanitarian aid access and hostages released, to bring the Gaza conflict to a sustainable end.
Israel suffered an appalling terrorist attack on 7 October —the deadliest in its history. It has the right to defend itself but must do so in accordance with international humanitarian law. Hamas must release the hostages immediately.
The fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a stop in the fighting in Gaza. We must then work with our international partners for a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.
The situation in Gaza is desperate. A shocking number of Palestinian civilians have been killed, and there is an urgent need to get more aid to the people of Gaza to prevent a famine.
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna’s final report, UNRWA’s response and the ongoing UN Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations. We recognise UNWRA’s important role.
We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and NGOs. We more than trebled our aid commitment in the 2023-24 financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.
As of 9 May, the UK has participated in 12 airdrops into Gaza. On 17 April we announced £3 million of additional funding for equipment to support UN and aid agencies to get more aid into Gaza, including trucks, forklifts, generators, fuel stores and lighting towers. This follows a £9.7 million package of military and civilian support to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza, including the deployment of a Navy ship and the establishment of the new pier to open up the maritime route which has seen the delivery of 4,000 shelter kits on 17 May.
UK support includes a field hospital, provided by UK Aid funding to UK-Med, which is up and running in Gaza and the facility has already treated thousands of patients. We have provided funding for the World Food Programme to provide 2,000 tonnes of food aid, enough to feed 275,000 people in Gaza.
Guaranteed deconfliction for aid convoys and other humanitarian work is essential.