Middle East

Andrew Pakes Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams), we will pursue any angle we can against operations taking place here in the UK. It is important to be clear that we have very much led the way with the sanctions that we have imposed. Most countries obviously do not sanction individual members of the Israeli Government, but we have done so because we were so appalled by the incitement by those individuals.

As the hon. Member will know, one of those Ministers was involved in the shocking flaunting and just the most disgraceful promoting of what were really disturbing ways of treating human beings on the flotilla that did not meet the basic standards of humanity. He also referred, as I described in my statement, to the really distressing case of a baby just seven months old being killed. That is why we will continue to pursue sanctions, and we will continue to pursue other options with allies across the world.

The other thing we need to do is build the same sense of international consensus that we had in the autumn on the 20-point plan for Gaza. There was only partial consensus on the west bank at that time. We and other countries recognised the state of Palestine as part of that, so there was that strong commitment, and the 20-point plan refers to the transition to the Palestinian Authority and links with the future state of Palestine. However, we need to strengthen the international consensus built in the autumn to cover a much wider area—not just Gaza, but also the west bank—with a broader regional security framework. We have seen the power we have when we get international consensus together, but individual countries acting alone do not have such an impact.

[Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the dedication and commitment of the Foreign Secretary and my hon. Friend the Minister for the middle east in trying to advance this issue in line with the will of this House. Only too sadly, it is no surprise to many of us that, while the eyes of the world have been largely focused on Iran, we have seen the abuses continue and get worse in Gaza and the west bank. That is a deliberate strategy of the Israeli Government. We often talk about settler violence, but this is state-supported settler violence, not the acts of individuals alone. So I welcome the advanced package put forward today, including in relation to the Charity Commission, but also in moving our sanctions from individuals to groups.

This is not just about aid going in, but about justice for Palestinians and for the west bank and about building a wider peace. What judgment will the Foreign Secretary make about whether the sanctions go far enough, and when will she come back to the House and tell us whether we will go further? Does she agree with me that this is a cause for justice, and one whose time needs to be taken more seriously?

[Yvette Cooper]

I do agree with my hon. Friend. What is going on is being talked about as, in effect, annexation of parts of the west bank. It is not simply about a small rogue group going against the intentions of the Israeli Government. The E1 settlement has been authorised and promoted by the Israeli Government, yet it is illegal. It goes against any prospects for peace and security in the region. Frankly, it is ultimately damaging for the security of Israel as well as for peace, security and justice for the people of Palestine. That is why we will continue to pursue this issue.

However, I think we have to combine two things: what we can do with our own sanctions regime, working with our closest allies on such measures and on applying pressure; and promoting the wider international consensus and energy that we briefly had in the autumn—it had built up over many months—and that we must rebuild now.