Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Andrew Murrison Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

As ever, my hon. Friend makes an important and powerful contribution. I will not repeat the position on recognition, but we recognise the force of what he says, which is that the situation has deteriorated, settlements have increased very significantly over the last year, as has settlement violence, and it is unacceptable.

[Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)]

It is a sad day when the UK Government and the Governments of New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Norway feel it necessary to sanction Government Ministers in the state of Israel, one of our closest allies, but it is the right thing to do. Can I, however, counsel the Minister, if I may be so presumptuous, against performative politics, and ask him how many mouths will be fed, how much violence against Palestinians in the west bank will be avoided or averted, and how much closer are we to achieving the two-state solution that we all want to see as a result of the action he has announced today?

[Mr Falconer]

As my predecessor, the right hon. Gentleman can, of course, counsel me, and I am grateful for his support on the measures we have taken. As I said to another of my predecessors, the right hon. Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne), I recognise that sanctions are not a remedy: this will feed no Palestinians. I hope it will deter, but we have no guarantees that it will save any Palestinian lives. However, we think these are important statements of principle and actions that demonstrate not just to the two individuals, but to Israeli society, where we stand on these questions.