Middle East and North Africa

Caroline Voaden Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

It is precisely the concerns that my hon. Friend outlines that led to the Foreign Secretary commissioning the permanent under-secretary to conduct the swift review that I described in my statement. We will update the House when that has concluded.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

It is quite difficult to know what to focus on in this wide-ranging statement—the rights of women and girls in Iran or the awful situation in Yemen—but I would like to focus on Israel banning 37 international aid organisations, such as Médecins Sans Frontières and Oxfam, from Gaza. The Minister used passive language in his statement. He said:

“Too much aid is still stuck at Gaza’s borders”.

This might be the ex-Reuters editor in me, but I think that is wrong. The aid is not “stuck” at Gaza’s border; it is being deliberately held there in an act of cruelty by the Israeli Government, who do not want the aid to help the people of Gaza. Will the Minister tell the House exactly what the UK Government are doing to restore access? What leverage are they using to force the Israeli Government to reverse this cruel decision, and when will they work with EU allies to bring in much wider sanctions? Perhaps it is time for trade, sport and cultural sanctions against Israel so that it will really listen, rather than just a passive statement that is clearly making no impact on the Israeli Government’s actions.

[Mr Falconer]

I hesitate to argue with an editor, but I think the British Government’s view on the restrictions on aid imposed by the Israeli Government has been absolutely clear in my statement today, and indeed in all my statements from the moment I went myself to the warehouses in Al Arish, where aid was being blocked from crossing the border by the Israeli Government.