Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Chris Murray(3 weeks ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
My hon. Friend is right; Gaza’s recovery needs will be vast, and they are extremely serious. The UK is engaged with partners on assessing those needs, and working together so that we can ensure that the unprecedented scale of destruction in Gaza is remediated. That will require innovative financing mechanisms, for example. Above all, it must be a process that is driven by Palestinians. My hon. Friend talked about UNRWA, and I discussed that situation with the emergency relief co-ordinator a few days ago. We continue to work with partners on this, and the UK Government’s position on UNWRA has been articulated a number of times from this Dispatch Box: we believe that it must be able to continue to operate.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
Let us be clear: Palestinian land belongs to the Palestinians, and any implication that they should be forced from it should be unequivocally condemned. Individual Palestinians are routinely forced from their land by illegal settlement building in the west bank. Will the Minister join me in unequivocally condemning illegal settlement building in the west bank?
Anneliese Dodds
Yes, and having seen that activity for myself, with the impact it has had on Palestinians and their families, the violence that has often accompanied it, and the economic damage it has done, I am well convinced of that, as indeed the UK Government have been—they have stated that many times.
Gaza: Humanitarian Situation
Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Chris Murray(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
Absolutely, the prevention of diversion of aid, not just in this context but more broadly wherever the UK is providing aid, is incredibly important. We take it very seriously indeed and we will always seek to ensure that there is absolutely watertight control around that, wherever UK taxpayers’ money is being used—as it is here—to support some of the people most in crisis on earth. The hon. Gentleman asked about the issue of UNRWA’s neutrality. We have covered that previously in the statement, but I just point again to the work that the UK has undertaken by providing support for UNRWA to implement the Colonna report.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
There are about a million children in Gaza. To put that in context, we have about a million children in Scotland too. Before I was elected, I worked for Save the Children and I have met the children of the Palestinian refugee camps. Of course, we welcome the ceasefire, which is long overdue. Those children now face homelessness, hunger and a lack of access to medical supplies, not to mention a disruption in their education. All children’s lives are equal, whether they be Scottish or Gazan. What are the UK Government doing to protect the children of Gaza at this time?
Anneliese Dodds
We are deeply alarmed by the disproportionate impact of the conflict on children in Gaza. My hon. Friend talked about education, and I will just mention that area, in the interests of time. He is right about the extreme disruption: at least 88% of school buildings will need full or major reconstruction and most, if not all, students in Gaza have not had access to education since 7 October. The UK has been supporting work on that, including through the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UNRWA.