Lord Singh of Wimbledon
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Palestinian Refugees
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that question. In the West Bank, settlement expansion and settler violence has increased; we must not lose sight of the West Bank, where stability is crucial. Israel must exercise restraint, stop settlement expansion, crack down on settler violence and end its financial stranglehold on the Palestinian Authority. We have imposed three rounds of sanctions on violent Israeli settlers and members of the Israeli cabinet.
On the noble Lord’s wider point about what we are doing, as he knows, we are working with partners to implement President Trump’s peace plan, and we have important priorities in the short term to stabilise the situation, maintain the ceasefire and work towards a Palestinian State and the two-state solution.
Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)
My Lords, why are we being so beastly to refugees? This is a Christian country and the Bible reminds us to be kind to strangers “for you are strangers in the land of Egypt”. Sikh teachings have similar sentiments. Palestinians have been continuously betrayed since the Balfour Declaration protecting their rights. Does the Minister agree that they deserve our sympathy and support?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that question and, yes, I would agree that refugees deserve our sympathy and support. In relation to Palestine specifically, we are providing £78 million for humanitarian and early-recovery support for Palestine this year. A couple of weeks ago, we allocated £20 million for essential water, sanitation and hygiene services. We have discussed this many times before in your Lordships’ House. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and the way to improve it is to increase the number of entry points into Gaza, and we call on the Israeli Government to open all routes so that aid can flow. I know that the noble Lord’s question was rather wider than that, but it is important that we deal with the situation.