Middle East
Debate between Andrew Pakes and David Lammy(5 days, 1 hour ago)
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Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend is right to raise human rights and human rights defenders, particularly those on the ground. She should be assured that the UK under this Government continues to fund those important organisations. They are part of the exercise of allowing very vulnerable people to have their rights advocated for and their dignity upheld in the most horrendous of circumstances. Those organisations are also part of the accountability mechanisms we have signed up to and believe in.
Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)
My right hon. Friend is right that this is not a day for celebration; it is a day for prayer—prayer that this deal is seen through and prayer that hostages and ordinary Palestinians get a chance to rebuild their lives after the atrocities and horrors of the past 15 months.
My right hon. Friend is right to say that this peace deal is fragile, but it is also right to say that many in the world, including in my community, think that the world community’s grasp on humanitarian values has been fragile these past 15 months. We have failed the hostages, failed the Palestinians and failed in the quest for peace by taking so long to do that. He will know that this issue is important to the community I represent. Nearly two years ago, the Foreign Secretary had lunch with me and some of my constituents, and we talked about previous crises where we have solved the crisis but given up on the peace. What reassurance can he give us that this time it will be different and the British Government will lead the way, once we get this deal in place, to ensure that there is a two-state solution and that dignity and respect are given to Israel and Palestine?
Mr Lammy
Eighty years on from the second world war, my hon. Friend is right. He is a dear friend, and I know his constituency well, having spent seven years of my life living in the great city of Peterborough. There is no doubting that when we look back on those 80 years, there are key moments that shook the foundations of the rule of law that men and women in this country fought for. I suspect that people will look back on this war as one of those hugely challenging moments. People who believe in democracy recognise that we are here as parliamentarians in one of the great homes of democracy to fight to keep hope alive. The Palestinian cause is a just cause. The plight of the Jewish people is also a just cause, and a homeland for them I think is right. We have got to achieve that peace. Just as I have for many years campaigned for peace in countries such as Northern Ireland and South Africa, we can get peace in the middle east if we redouble our efforts and the whole of the international community stands true to international humanitarian law.
More than two hours after I started this statement, I am grateful for the opportunity this afternoon.
Middle East
Debate between Andrew Pakes and David Lammy(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Mr Lammy
I have emphasised my conversation with the Israeli Foreign Minister yesterday, but I should also emphasise my conversation with the Iranian Foreign Minister yesterday. I talked to him about restraint, and our concerns in relation to the support for proxies, and I raised the nuclear question, and the snapback clause that comes into play next year if we are not able to progress, with E3 partners, our further conversations with Iran.
Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)
As the Foreign Secretary knows, this is a critical time for the middle east. I think the House speaks as one with a message of ending the violence, releasing the hostages and getting aid in. The humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian people will only be made worse if the Israeli Government carry out their threat to effectively shut down UNRWA. Although I welcome the Government’s utter condemnation and rejection of those plans, what reassurances can he give my constituents and the House that the Government will not only talk tough in the region but take action to protect lives if the Israeli Government persist with those plans?
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend is right to raise UNRWA. That is why the Government restored funding to UNRWA, it is why we gave it a further £21 million, and it is why £1 million of that funding was used to help it to implement Madame Colonna’s reforms. It would be a catastrophe to see the end of UNRWA—and it would be wholly counterproductive for Israel, by the way. The situation in the occupied territories is fragile as it is. To take away UNRWA would be catastrophic. For all those reasons, I have urged the Israeli Government to step back and not implement what has passed through the Knesset.
Israel and Gaza
Debate between Andrew Pakes and David Lammy(6 months ago)
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Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)
I welcome my right hon. Friend to his position and the restoration of funding to UNRWA. It is good to see that when we talked about change at the election, we also meant in the international approach of the Government. I know that he will share the House’s revulsion at the ongoing horror faced by hostages, their families and the innocent civilians in Gaza facing this enduring crisis. That revulsion is shared by many people in my Peterborough constituency. It is a privilege to be a voice for them in calling for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, peace and a complete solution to recognise Palestine. What message would he send to constituents of mine—who have for too long heard discussions about a two-state solution—to say that this time, with a new Government, we have a new approach to deal with the immediate crisis and achieve the recognition of Palestine?
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend knows that I know Peterborough very well, having spent seven years of my life in that great cathedral city. I have knocked on doors with him and know that this is an issue of great concern there. We are absolutely committed to the two-state solution. The global community has, for too many years, talked about it but not acted, and I recognise that there is now almost tremendous cynicism when that phrase is used, but there is no way out of this crisis without a plan for afterwards. That plan must, of course, guarantee the security of Israel, but the Palestinian cause is a just cause, and we must work with Arab partners and build up the Palestinian Authority. I spoke to them at length about what more we can do to assist them with the reforms that they need to make so that we can realise that. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to put on record our deep concern for the hostages, their families and their plight. If they were released, we could end this now.