Baroness Northover
Main Page: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Baroness Stedman-Scott
The noble Lord paints a true picture of the situation and of the angst and frustration at the fact that we seem unable to bring about a two-state solution; the angst of that is palpable. I have not read the leader in the Guardian, but I will make sure the officials get me a copy and I will make sure that I read it. People are continually trying to make the case that the actual motivation and desire to achieve peace in a two-state solution must come from the individuals involved, in Israel and Palestine, and we will do everything we can to help that happen.
Baroness Northover (LD)
Does the noble Baroness think it acceptable that Israel is not allowing out for treatment those who have been wounded in the recent protests to which she referred? Have the Government made any assessment of whether the sniper rifles and components given export licences and sold to Israel by UK firms have been used on protesters?
Baroness Stedman-Scott
Of course, such behaviour is unacceptable. The information I have is that we take our responsibilities for the export of defence arms extremely seriously. We approve only equipment that is for Israel’s legitimate self-defence, and all applications for export licences are assessed on a case-by-case basis against strict criteria. We will not issue a licence if there is a clear risk that the equipment might be used for internal repression.