Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

UK bilateral recognition is the single most important action that the United Kingdom can take with regard to Palestinian statehood, which is why it is important for us to get the timing right and to work with partners as we consider the issues very closely. I have talked about the international conference in June on the implementation of the two-state solution, which we will of course be attending; we are talking with our partners about it and they will have heard what the hon. Gentleman has said.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement, and last night’s collective statement. However, repeated strong words without action now ring hollow. Netanyahu’s Government continue with the starvation and killing of innocent Palestinians. Suspending trade negotiations and other steps that the Foreign Secretary has announced today will not stop the killing of innocent Palestinians, because we are dealing with an extremist right-wing Netanyahu Government. Concrete steps to uphold our humanitarian commitments are overdue, so when will the Foreign Secretary impose a full arms embargo on Israel and recognise Palestine?

[Mr Lammy]

We have imposed a ban on arms sales for use in Gaza—we did that in September. I know that my hon. Friend’s constituents will care a lot about the war in Ukraine and other conflicts across the world, and therefore he will recognise the decision that we have made, particularly about the F-35 supply chain. The whole House will have heard his points on recognition.

Gaza: UK Assessment

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Wednesday 14th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

These responsibilities weigh heavily on me and on every member of the Government and the Foreign Office team. But let us not forget what this Government have done. Whether it is restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency; suspending arms exports in the way we have described; providing £129 million of humanitarian aid and then being one of the loudest voices in trying to ensure that it enters Gaza; or working with Jordan to fly medicines into Gaza, with Egypt to treat medically evacuated civilians, with Project Pure Hope to help Gazan children in the UK, and with Kuwait to support vulnerable children through UNICEF; we are taking steps. We take the judgments of the ICJ incredibly seriously, but I cannot pretend to the House that the events in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of recent days are acceptable, and we will continue to take every step we can to get a change of course.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

Tomorrow is the 77th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba, which saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes. That still continues today, and the UN Security Council has said that action is now required to prevent genocide. A key step to a peaceful two-state solution would be recognising Palestinian statehood—something that Israel is trying to prevent. With 147 countries recognising Palestinian statehood, is now not the right time for the UK to do so, too?

[Mr Falconer]

The question of recognition of a Palestinian state is obviously one of vital importance. We want to do so as a contribution to a more stable region. We can see the serious and immediate threats to the viability of Palestinian life, and that is what we are focused on in these most urgent of days.

Middle East Update

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I will not rehearse the points I have already made about the determination of genocide and about recognition.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

The evacuation orders of the Israeli forces have resulted in the forcible transfer of Palestinians in Gaza into ever-shrinking spaces, where they have little or no access to lifesaving services and continue to be subjected to attacks. What steps will the Government take to put pressure on Israel to ensure it does not go ahead with its plans to move Gaza’s population? Do the Government agree that the plans constitute forced displacement, which is a war crime?

[Mr Falconer]

As I have said, we are clear on the status of forced displacement under international law. My hon. Friend’s contribution is very important. I know many hon. Members are conscious of the multiple displacements of many Palestinians in Gaza, who have been displaced not once or twice, but in many cases more than three times. The treatment of Palestinian civilians who are just trying to live is terrible, and I share the feelings of the House about that.

Kashmir: Increasing Tension

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

We are encouraging direct lines of communication, and we are of course encouraging Pakistan to provide all possible assistance with the investigation of these horrific crimes.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

May I associate myself with the comments of the Minister and other Members who have condemned the killing of 26 innocent people?

Given that tensions between India and Pakistan are running high and resulting in arrests, does the Minister agree with me, and with others who have raised the point, that we must not let this issue boil over into our streets? If anything, we should be working to convey a message of peace and hope to that part of the world. In the light of the tit-for-tat actions being undertaken by Pakistan and India, does the Minister also agree that we need to encourage the holding of an open, independent inquiry to establish the facts, ensure accountability and help to restore calm? That would be far better for the world than India and Pakistan—nuclear powers—going to war.

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend is, of course right: peace and calm are vital for communities here and across the world. The two states are talking to each other, which is welcome. India’s concerns for its own security are understandable in the light of such a horrific incident. It is clearly taking steps to try to establish the facts as best it can, and it will have British support to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

16. What steps his Department is taking to support people affected by the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

21. What steps his Department is taking to help tackle food insecurity in Sudan.

[The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)]

We remain desperately concerned about the humanitarian situation in Sudan. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has set out the measures taken by the UK to seek to ameliorate that appalling disaster, included a doubling of aid to Sudan.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anneliese Dodds]

The hon. Member is right to raise the disturbing accounts of atrocities that we have heard. She will be pleased to know that the UK led efforts to renew the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission mandate last October, and I was very pleased to see additional African countries coming on board with that. We have doubled our aid to Sudan, so that commitment is not in doubt.

[Afzal Khan]

I welcome the Government pushing a ceasefire in Sudan and doubling aid. Sudan’s civil war, now in its third year, has triggered one of the worst humanitarian crises of the decade, with 5.1 million internally displaced people and 1.3 million refugees since April 2023, and famine is now looming. Given this, will the Minister outline what urgent steps the Government are taking with their international counterparts to help de-escalate the conflict in Sudan?

[Anneliese Dodds]

Ending the conflict in Sudan, and the appalling consequences of it, is a UK priority. Both the Foreign Secretary and I have visited the region, including Chad and South Sudan. We have increased aid, and we have been determined to increase international attention. That includes the April conference to which the Foreign Secretary referred, but I also convened Development Ministers from a number of countries a few days ago, with the emergency relief co-ordinator, to try to pile on the pressure.

Northern Gaza

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The Prime Minister was the first Prime Minister to meet the Commissioner-General of UNRWA. He did so in a week when we had announced further funding for UNRWA. We have raised those vital questions with the Israeli Government. We did so over the course of the break. I myself have met Commissioner-General Lazzarini, and I will be saying more about UNRWA in the coming weeks if we are not in a position to see that the Israelis have taken the action necessary to ensure the sustained and continued support that Palestinians require and which only UNRWA can provide.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

Not one single hospital now operates in northern Gaza. Healthcare staff continue to be targeted, resulting in the death of even more innocent civilians. We have heard the Minister, but surely what we are doing is not enough. What can we do to stop the systemic dismantling of the hospitals in Gaza?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend is right that what we have done is not enough, and we know it is not enough because the provision is so poor in northern Gaza. We are distressed by the scenes in northern Gaza and by the circumstances that hon. Members have described. We will continue to work as hard as we can, both in relation to UNRWA and directly with the Israeli Government, to try to ensure that the aid provision, including medical provision, is provided with urgency. The current situation is not good enough.

Israel and Palestine

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

In July, this Government called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but Netanyahu and his Government refused to listen. The only way we can ensure a permanent end to the cycle of violence is by facilitating the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, so does the hon. Member agree that it is time for the UK to join the 146 UN member states that recognise the state of Palestine, and that it should do so as a matter of urgency?

[Dr Savage]

I will come to that point shortly.

The conflict has expanded beyond Gaza’s borders. I am sure that we all welcomed the recent ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, which faced a humanitarian crisis of its own. But it is not just in Lebanon; across the whole middle east, from Iran to Yemen, and of course most recently in Syria, we have seen the ramifications of this conflict.

The first petition calls for the immediate recognition of Palestine as a state. It received 283,669 signatures and was started by Sandra Downs, who is in the Public Gallery. I thank Sandra for her time last week, when she met me to discuss her petition.

Israel-Gaza Conflict: Arrest Warrants

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Hamish Falconer]

This is described in international law as the question of complementarity, and it was considered by the pre-trial chamber. Given the independence of the ICC, I do not think it appropriate for me to offer further commentary. Arguments were made by various states on this matter, and the pre-trial chamber came to its findings.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that as well as demanding an immediate ceasefire, the freeing of all hostages and unhindered aid getting into Gaza, we must ensure that the perpetrators of heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity, whether they are friend or foe, are held to account under international law based on justice that is blind, objective and impartial? Playing politics with courts undermines justice.

[Hamish Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Support for international criminal justice and accountability has traditionally been a matter on which we have had widespread support in this House. It will continue to be a priority for the British Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

Criterion 2C of our strategic export licensing criteria is a clear risk of breach of international humanitarian law. Careful assessments have to be made. There is a then a legal process to enable us to reach a conclusion. Of course, with all sobriety and integrity, I intend to do that and I will update the House as soon as I can.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

13. Whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion entitled, “Legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, published on 19 July 2024.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)]

16. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion entitled, “Legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, published on 19 July 2024.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)]

We have been clear that the Government must uphold both our domestic and international legal obligations. The UK respects the independence of the ICJ. We received the advisory opinion on 19 July and issued a statement that made it clear that we were considering it carefully before responding. My colleagues on the Front Bench have already made it clear that they oppose the violence from settlers on the west bank, but I am happy to expand on that point, if that is what my hon. Friend and the right hon. Gentleman would like.

[Afzal Khan]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for showing bold leadership and unequivocal support for international law by dropping the previous Government’s opposition to the arrest warrant against Netanyahu. The ICJ’s historic advisory opinion earlier this month made it clear that Israel’s occupation and annexation of Palestinian territories is unlawful, an issue on which many of us have campaigned. What steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to ensure that Israel ends its unlawful occupation, which includes the recent expansion of Israeli settlements on the west bank and the annexation of East Jerusalem?

[Hamish Falconer]

I know that my hon. Friend cares deeply about these matters. The Foreign Secretary visited the region within a week of taking office, and he has also raised those precise issues with the Israeli authorities. I reiterate that we are strongly opposed to the expansion of illegal settlements and rising settler violence. More west bank land has been declared state lands by Israel this year than at any time since the Oslo accords. The British Government already have sanctions against eight people and two groups in relation to settlers in the west bank, and we will look at all options when it comes to tougher action on issues related to the west bank.

Israel and Gaza

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Monday 20th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The number of trucks getting through is wholly inadequate. That is one reason why we have made 12 air drops—11 by the Royal Air Force—and it is why we now have the maritime corridor. Restrictions on what can be transported by truck into Gaza were a significant problem to begin with. That particular aspect has eased as both sides have understood each other’s position on what is being taken into Gaza, but I am afraid that the amount of humanitarian support getting in by truck is still woefully inadequate.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

New polling by YouGov shows that 73% of the British public support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and 55% support the UK suspending arms sales to Israel for the duration of the conflict. Does the Minister recognise that his Government are elected to represent the people of Britain, and will they finally represent the majority of the people in Britain by calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and suspending all arms sales to Israel?

[Mr Mitchell]

On arms sales, the hon. Gentleman knows that it is not for the whim of a politician at the Dispatch Box to decide for or against; there is a proper process to be followed based on legal advice, and he would not expect Ministers to deviate from that entirely proper way of judging these things. We all want a ceasefire, but we want a sustainable ceasefire. That is why the Government have consistently pressed, as endorsed by a United Nations resolution, for a pause in the fighting to get the hostages out and allow aid in. That would be the way to lead to a sustainable ceasefire, as a precursor to a longer-term deal. The British Government will continue, I hope with his support and that of others on the Labour Benches, to prosecute that endeavour.