Oral Answers to Questions

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

We engage regularly with international counterparts on Georgia and on wider stability in the south Caucasus. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the importance of media freedom. He will know that we condemned the disproportionate and politically motivated sentencing of Mzia Amaglobeli in August; she has been sentenced to two years in prison, and we call for her immediate release. I also discussed the wider situation with Georgia’s fifth president, President Zourabichvili, on her recent visit to the UK, and I expressed my support for her work supporting democracy in Georgia. The right hon. Gentleman will understand that I will not comment on further measures, but he can be absolutely assured that I am closely following matters, as are other colleagues across Government.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

6. What progress his Department has made on the evacuation of UK scholarship students from Gaza.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

I have been working closely with the Home Secretary to ensure that students from Gaza, including Chevening scholars, can secure their UK visas. We are expecting nine Chevening students to start their courses soon. I am pleased to say that we are extending this support to students in Gaza with full scholarships.

[Abtisam Mohamed]

Yara is a 24-year-old student from Gaza City. Her ambition is to study international law and global justice, and earlier this year she won a scholarship at the University of Sheffield to do just that. Yara is one of more than 80 scholarship students trapped in Gaza today, displaced again and again, with all her belongings packed into a small bag and ready to move at a moment’s notice. This scholarship offers her a chance to escape Israel’s genocide, famine and bombardment, which has flattened more than 1,000 buildings in Yara’s neighbourhood in just one week. Can the Foreign Secretary guarantee that Yara and other students like her will not be left stranded and will be immediately evacuated by the Government in time for their courses to start this month?

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing Yara to the attention of the House. Of course we want to see bright students like her able to achieve their ambitions. We are reliant on Israeli permissions and on students having a full scholarship, but what I can do is ensure that the Minister for the Middle East meets my hon. Friend to discuss this case in detail.

Middle East

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his remarks, particularly on Iran. He is absolutely right to place at the centre the 15,000 people who have been injured in Gaza while simply seeking aid, and the more than 2,000 who have died seeking aid. It is totally unacceptable, and he is right to remind the House about the position of the hostage families, who are crystal clear that they do not want to see further military endeavour and operation in Gaza City. What they want is a ceasefire, and they fear that further military endeavour will actually harm their loved ones further, not succeed in bringing them home.

The hon. Gentleman criticises our position on recognition. I ask him to reflect on that, because it must be right that the Government continue to give diplomacy an opportunity as we head to the UN alongside other partners. Surely he would want us to be working with our French, Australian and Canadian partners as we head to that gathering at UNGA, and surely he would want to see the Israelis commit to a ceasefire, commit to a process and end the war. All of that is what we are seeking to do as we make an assessment of where we have got to in the coming weeks. I reassure him that of course I raise the issue of Gaza with all levels of the US Administration. I did raise the situation in Gaza with Vice President Vance earlier in the summer and with Secretary of State Rubio, and I have spoken to envoy Steve Witkoff in the last 24 hours to get an update on this fast-moving situation. Direct sales of F-35s to Israel are banned, and the hon. Gentleman knows that we ban arms that could go to the IDF for use in Gaza.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement on Palestinian statehood and the additional aid announced for Gaza, as well as the recent work to evacuate students and children in need of medical treatment. However, the world’s foremost group of genocide scholars has said that

“Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”.

This is against the backdrop of Israel continuing to bombard Gaza, continuing to target and kill journalists, and continuing its policy of annexing the entire territory, with Trumpian visions of a Gaza where the self-determination of Palestinians is little more than a real estate opportunity. Does the Foreign Secretary agree with me that this monumental resolution by genocide scholars should now trigger our responsibility to act?

[Mr Lammy]

I say to my hon. Friend that we continue to do all we can to bring the horrific suffering in this war to an end. Of course I recognise what legal scholars are saying about the conflict and in relation to genocide. That must be, appropriately, a matter for the legal system, but I think the whole world looks on what is happening with deep, deep concern, and in every legislature across the world there is condemnation.

Sudan

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

Not a single person in my Sudanese diaspora community in Sheffield has not been affected by the horrific violence in Sudan, but the most harrowing part for them is not the regular communication jams blocking parent from child and brother from sister, or the multiple displacements of millions of the most vulnerable people, or indeed the famine ripping through the population; the worst part is that while this, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, is breaking every boundary we know, world powers continue to look away.

The UK Government have a unique position as penholder for Sudan, and at the UN Security Council I appreciate that we called for a ceasefire through a resolution, but the resolution set no deadline for concluding the ceasefire and authorised no enforcement mission. So, Minister, what are we doing to enforce accountability for the shameful complicity of states backing the warring sides, and when will we push for an agreement to a ceasefire so the people of Sudan can be free from this horror?

[Catherine West]

I thank my hon. Friend, who is a loud voice here on behalf her Sudanese diaspora. The most important things the UK can do to build on the momentum of the important London Sudan conference—bearing in mind that we were the first to have such a conference—are to continue to base our work on the statement from its co-chairs; to continue, as she says, to use our role at the United Nations; and to work through the new friends of Sudan grouping to keep pushing at the highest level, using our position on the UN Security Council to galvanise its action and continue the important supply of aid into the region.

Middle East

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I simply say to the right hon. Gentleman, with all respect, that there is a convention in our country about the very important role that Attorneys General play in our Government. They are able to give the Government advice when asked for it; that happens under all Governments. I do not really recognise the caricature that I have heard or some of the reports. I want to make it crystal clear that we were not involved in this action and therefore some of what is being said is wholly beyond the pale.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

Many constituents contacted me over the weekend, fearful of the fallout from US intervention in Iran. They know, and we know, that wars do not make the world a safer place, but make it much more dangerous. Their concerns are not unwarranted. In 2002, Netanyahu offered a guarantee that regime change in Iraq would bring “enormous positive reverberations” to the region. We now know that there was no imminent threat and no evidence of weapons. The scale of the disaster, not just in Iraq but across the region, was so profound that the Chilcot inquiry insisted that any future military intervention must be met with rigorous scrutiny. Does the Foreign Secretary accept the need for such scrutiny, and will he reassure the House again that we will not enter an endless war fuelled by reckless provocateurs?

[Mr Lammy]

I was in the House during the period in which Chilcot was doing his work, and I reassure my hon. Friend that our Government—and, I hope, all future UK Governments—have learned from its findings.

Iran-Israel Conflict

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his remarks and the tone with which he made them, because in matters of war it is always important that this House can speak with one voice. On proscription, I refer him to the work of Jon Hall and remind him that we are dealing with state threats. To be absolutely clear, no country in the world is deploying more state threats across the world than Iran. That was why it was important to look at that issue specifically. He has found gaps in our architecture. We are looking at those gaps and we will come forward with our plans shortly.

The hon. Gentleman rightly talks about the important work of negotiation and diplomacy, and what sits behind that. It is absolutely right that we continue to work with France and Germany. I reassure him that that work has continued and was continuing alongside—a parallel track, if you like—the work of President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff. We applauded that work and that effort to get to a negotiated diplomatic solution, but it is a solution that will require Iran giving up its nuclear capability. It will involve Iran getting serious about what those centrifuges under mountains are really for. We are very serious about that; that is what we were insistent on, and why we said there would be a snapback and we would impose very severe sanctions—that those sanctions would hit Iran once again if we did not see compliance.

The hon. Gentleman puts on record his views on Gaza. We have had those exchanges many times across the Chamber.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the work of the Foreign Secretary and the diplomatic actions that have taken place so far. Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran has opened yet another dangerous front and risks dragging the entire region into a wider war, with devastating consequences for ordinary people across the middle east—people who have already borne decades of conflict and intervention. Given that Israel’s claims have been challenged even by US intelligence assessments, can the Foreign Secretary assure the House that no UK military support, whether direct or indirect, will be given without the clear and explicit consent of this House, and that the Government have learned the hard lessons of Iraq and Libya, and will not repeat them?

[Mr Lammy]

I say to my hon. Friend categorically that the UK is not involved in Israel’s strikes. We do have an important regional role. We have UK assets in Cyprus, Bahrain and Qatar, and we have an important role in Operation Shader, where we are dealing with terrible threats to us and our allies from Daesh and others. We have important relationships in the Gulf and the wider region. That is why the Defence Secretary has, as a precautionary step, sent further military aid to the area.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

In this House, we have to be focused on what the real options are for getting aid at volume into Gaza. The truth is that it must be done via land routes, and even when aid gets into Gaza by land, that is still incredibly dangerous for aid workers. Ultimately, deconfliction mechanisms for aid workers in Gaza will be vital, should a full aid operation be again allowed in the strip. I met this week with the bereaved families of the victims from the World Central Kitchen operation. There were three British veterans lost while trying to deliver aid to the people of Gaza, and three British families are still mourning the loss of their loved one at the hands of the Israel Defence Forces. If there was some other option to get aid into Gaza safely, we would take it. No such option exists. We have to negotiate access with the Israeli Government, and that is what we seek to do.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the sanctions announced today, which are long overdue and signify an important step forward. I thank the Minister for his hard work and strong statement on the issue. My hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) and I were denied entry by Israel into the Occupied Palestinian Territories precisely because we spoke out against war crimes in Gaza and against annexation in the west bank. Annexation is real—it is happening. Partners in the region are calling for recognition before it is too late.

Today the US ambassador to Israel reiterated what many fear: that the US will not prioritise a Palestinian state becoming a reality in our lifetime. Does the Minister agree that we must not throw recognition into the long grass, that failure to recognise next week at the UN conference implies that Israel does have a veto, and that the Israeli Government will continue to annex and terrorise Palestinians in the west bank? If we do not recognise now, there will be no Palestinian state to recognise. Does the Minister agree that we must recognise a Palestinian state at the UN conference next week?

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for her commitment to these issues. Clearly, recognition is right at the centre of any discussion of a two-state solution. The actions we have announced today are part of the UK’s efforts to ensure that the reality of a two-state solution remains in play. It is clear from the rhetoric of the two Ministers we have sanctioned, as well as others in the Israeli Government, that there is limited commitment on the side of the Israeli Government to advancing that cause. The UK is committed to advancing that cause, and we will talk to our friends and allies in the run-up to the conference next week.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I listened carefully to what the right hon. Gentleman said, and I take issue with the way he began his question. I think it is wrong to characterise the whole of Israel in the way he did. It is not that the Israelis could not give a fig about what is said from this Front Bench—that is not the case. Our issue today, and the reason I have taken the decisions I have about a new free trade agreement, a review of the road map and the announcement of further sanctions, is the position of the Netanyahu Government and the language from those Ministers. That is why I was so shocked that the Opposition Front Benchers could not stand up and find their own moral authority. I am proud of what we have done since coming into government, right from the beginning. I want to see an end to this war, as the right hon. Gentleman knows. Our diplomats are doing all they can to try to use our lever to bring this war to an end.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s very strong statement and thank him for his work on this matter. He confirmed the words of Minister Smotrich—that Israel’s goal is to destroy everything that is left in the Gaza strip. Smotrich has also said that Israel will carry out the “conquering” and “cleansing” of the Gaza strip. Prime Minister Netanyahu has praised those words, saying that Smotrich was speaking the truth. That is effectively an explicit admission that Israeli officials intend to carry out ethnic cleansing. What are we doing to satisfy our obligations under the Geneva convention to prevent a genocide from taking place, and why are we not sanctioning Minister Smotrich?

[Mr Lammy]

Our obligations were met, under our legislation to ensure that none of us is complicit in any acts that breach international humanitarian law, when I suspended arms back in September. My hon. Friend will remember that, in opposition, many of us were surprised and shocked that the previous Government failed to do that. Our obligations were met, but they were not satisfied because the war still goes on. That is why, working with international partners, I have announced further measures today. It is why we continue to discuss these issues with the Israeli Government. And it is why the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), has summoned the Israeli ambassador, to make our position crystal clear.

Gaza: UK Assessment

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I have set out some of what the Government have done, and I could continue doing so for some time. Let me be clear. The hon. Gentleman rightly points out the absolutely appalling nature of any attempt to weaponise aid and use incendiary language, which are clearly breaches of international obligations. We have condemned from the Dispatch Box much of that language, some of which was repeated by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding). I take this opportunity to say again that the British Government absolutely condemn that inflammatory language. We will continue to do so, and to make our views known to the Israeli Government, in the most forceful possible way.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

The international community has failed to stop Israel’s impunity. We have collectively failed to act on violations as they are committed, and to hold Israel to account. With our collective failure, Palestinians in Gaza face collective punishment. Israeli Ministers have stated that stopping humanitarian aid is one of their main levers of pressure. That is not only cruel and indefensible, but an explicit admission of violations of international law. I hear our condemnations, Minister, but I see no action. Why are we still sending arms? Why are we not sanctioning Israeli Ministers? The UN has said what many know to be true: as a signatory to the Geneva convention, we have a legal obligation to prevent genocide. Minister, when will we act?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend is forceful advocate on these questions. She points to failure, and I recognise that failure. So many days and months on, the people of Gaza and the west bank, and of course the hostages, are in the most distressing circumstances possible. I will not comment from the Dispatch Box on sanctions, as she would expect, but I can assure her that we will work urgently with our allies and partners on further pressure to make Israel change course.

Israel: Refusal of Entry for UK Parliamentarians

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

Forgive me, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The Leader of the Opposition said on Sunday:

“If you look at the reasons the Israeli Government has given for why they’re not letting them in—they don’t believe they’re going to comply with their laws.”

The reason for the denial, which the Israeli Government gave to the two MPs in writing, was for the prevention of illegal immigration considerations. The Leader of the Opposition should apologise.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I would like to start by thanking the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for the Middle East, the British embassy in Tel Aviv and the British consulate for their continued support.

It has been a challenging few days. What happened to me and my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) is unprecedented: we were denied entry based on our legitimate political opinions, which are firmly aligned with international law. We are not the only ones speaking about the atrocities, we are not the only ones calling for change, and we are not the only ones saying that the current actions of the Israeli Government must change. Indeed, many Israeli people and charities in Israel have also called for the Israeli Government’s actions to change

There is no direct route into the west bank, so we had to go through Israel. This act was not just a diplomatic affront. Neither was it about security; it was about control and censorship. No state, however powerful, should be beyond criticism. I desperately want to see a two-state solution; I desperately want to see peace. I hope that the Minister will be able to work with his counterparts in Israel to prevent this denial of entry from happening again, so that we can continue to act in good faith to shed light on what is happening.

[Mr Falconer]

I pay tribute to the dignity of my hon. Friends the Members for Sheffield Central and for Earley and Woodley.

I can assure my hon. Friend that we will continue to work with the Israeli Government, and all our partners across the region, towards a two-state solution. I welcome the strength of support from her and many other colleagues in this House.

To be clear on the position of the Israeli Government: they do have the right to decide who enters their country, as indeed do we. On this occasion, the two Members of Parliament were given clearance to enter, so it was known to the Israeli Government before they arrived at the airport that they would be travelling. It was therefore with some surprise that I received the call on Saturday evening.

Gaza: Israeli Military Operations

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

These are important questions that the right hon. Lady has asked. The Foreign Secretary has been directly involved in Minister-to-Minister contact. I, too, have been talking with all those affected. I very much welcome her comments about the hostages. Of course, the whole House wants to see them all released, and I am sure that many of us will be thinking of Avinatan Or—he has a British mother—who has been held, almost certainly in terrible conditions, ever since 7 October. I know that the whole House will continue to think of those hostage victims.

The right hon. Lady rightly asked about humanitarian aid. I accept that our efforts in recent days to try to prevent the blockade from continuing in Gaza have not been effective. In the first part of this year, we saw a very welcome increase in aid going into Gaza, including UK aid. Even during that greater flow, there were still unwelcome restrictions on the nature of the aid going in, which made reconstruction, shelter, tents and sleeping bags hard to get into Gaza when they were desperately needed. So there were improvements, and we can see a route by which we might see a significant increase in the amount of aid getting into the Gaza strip, which is desperately needed. But at the current time the reports are extremely depressing; we discussed some of them yesterday.

The right hon. Lady asked about our plan for reconstruction and what discussions we are having with others. We have discussed the Arab initiative with those involved closely. We think it is a plan with real merit. It must not allow Hamas to have a role in government—we are absolutely clear on that point, and I think Arab partners are very much of the same view. That is the basic idea from which we must work.

[Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

On 30 March, the first day of Eid, Israeli attacks on Gaza killed dozens of Palestinians, adding to the death toll since Israel breached the ceasefire agreement. Israel is now in the process of enacting the largest forced displacement, ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Rafah. How will this end? Israel cannot and will not stop. Is the goal ethnic cleansing? We are witnessing that. Is the goal the complete destruction of Gaza? We are now witnessing that. Is the goal the permanent occupation of Gaza and the west bank? We continue to witness that. Is the goal a complete end to the two-state solution? Israeli Ministers have made their intentions clear. Will the Minister unequivocally condemn their actions for what they are: war crimes and crimes against humanity?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend has been fearless and persistent on those questions. I do condemn the comments of Israeli Ministers which amount to forced displacement or the annexation of Palestinian territories. We recognise international humanitarian law and call on all our allies, including Israel, also to abide by it. The scenes in Gaza in recent days have been hard to watch, and we will continue to make those points to the Israelis with all the force that my hon. Friend would expect.