Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Paul Waugh
Thursday 6th February 2025

(3 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Anneliese Dodds Portrait Anneliese Dodds
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As the right hon. Member is aware and as we have discussed previously, this UK Government have taken a different approach from the previous Government on matters of accountability. We were very clear that the UK’s arms export regime had to be held to and operated in line with international humanitarian law. That underwrote the decisions we took in the autumn: we said we would examine that regime and deliver on it, and we examined that regime and suspended a number of licences. He is also aware about the new UK Government’s different position on the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and UNRWA, and he is aware that we resumed funding for UNRWA.

I do not want to labour the point because so many hon. Members want to ask questions, but it is important that the UK has engaged in diplomacy and sought to work with our partners. I believe hon. Members would expect the UK Government to do that and to engage with the UN on these matters, rather than to walk away. I would underline that international law is universal: it must be—that is its founding principle. It operates regardless of circumstance or which population and individuals we are talking about. On the right hon. Member’s last point, we have been very clear about the right to return.

Paul Waugh Portrait Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
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The television footage of many thousands of Palestinian men, women and children walking back to northern Gaza was a powerful reminder not just of the forceable displacement they have already suffered, but of the extraordinary resilience of that people. That is why there is real anger among Palestinians today that, yet again, the very existence of their homeland is being subject to the whims of another colonial power. I am pleased that the Minister has confirmed that the UK has an unshakable policy on the right of return of those Palestinians, to rebuild their homes and their lives, but would she agree with the UN Secretary-General, who said today that staying true to international law is

“essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”?

Anneliese Dodds Portrait Anneliese Dodds
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for again raising the images that so many of us have seen on our television screens of Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza. As the Prime Minister explained, in many cases they have no choice but to walk back to their homes because of the destruction of roads and other infrastructure, but many of those homes have been destroyed. My hon. Friend is right that the experience of displacement has been felt by very significant numbers of Gazans: up to 90% of Gazans have been displaced at least once and some up to nine times. To underline yet another time, the UK’s commitment to international law is very clear. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have restated that, and I restate it again today.

Israel: UNRWA Ban

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Paul Waugh
Tuesday 29th October 2024

(3 months, 4 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Anneliese Dodds Portrait Anneliese Dodds
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for taking a long-term perspective on these critical questions. Given the humanitarian catastrophe, we agree that this decision, if implemented, will be deeply harmful not just currently, but in the future. As we just discussed, we will continue to work towards the ceasefire that is so desperately needed. When that ceasefire is achieved and we see a cessation of hostilities, it will be incredibly important that the reconstruction continues. We will need to see UNRWA and other UN agencies, as well as other countries in the region, involved in that process. A number of different partners will need to be engaged in the very important effort of rebuilding, which the UK Government have discussed with many partners.

Paul Waugh Portrait Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
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Has the Minister seen the latest letter from the Commissioner-General of UNRWA? It states unequivocally:

“Today, even as we look into the faces of children in Gaza, some of whom we know will die tomorrow, the rules-based international order is crumbling in a repetition of the horrors that led to the establishment of the United Nations”.

Does she agree with him that the implementation of the UN mandate

“may become impossible without decisive intervention by the General Assembly”

and UN Security Council members?

Anneliese Dodds Portrait Anneliese Dodds
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I have discussed these issues directly with Commissioner-General Lazzarini and other members of the UNRWA leadership, as my hon. Friend would expect. I agree that we all need to do what we can to preserve the rules-based international order. On the possibility of the UN General Assembly taking action on this issue, I spoke for the UK when the matter was discussed at the UN General Assembly in New York about three weeks ago.

Gaza and Lebanon

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Paul Waugh
Tuesday 15th October 2024

(4 months, 1 week ago)

Commons Chamber
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Paul Waugh Portrait Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
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Last week, a UN commission of inquiry found that

“Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles while tightening their siege on Gaza”,

and said that

“These actions constitute…war crimes”.

Can the Secretary of State tell me how the UK Government will hold Israel to account for such appalling conduct?

Anneliese Dodds Portrait Anneliese Dodds
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The UK Government look very carefully indeed at any reports suggesting that there has been a breaking of international humanitarian law. We have been particularly concerned about the situation of many healthcare workers. We have seen many of them being killed, and that includes UK and UK-linked personnel. We continue to look carefully at all these representations, including those that have come from the UN.