Middle East

Chris Law Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

Well, I have laid out the steps that we have taken so far. Let me turn to the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker). She focused in particular on sexual violence, which is about the most appalling of crimes, but if she will permit me, I want to talk a bit about the wider situation in relation to justice and accountability.

British aid workers have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. There is a reasonable expectation from the House, and indeed from across the world, that the Israeli Government and the Israeli justice system will ensure accountability for everyone, but particularly when foreign nationals are involved. We continue to press for further progress in relation to accountability. If the Israeli Government and the Israeli justice system cannot demonstrate that progress, international partners—including the UK—will draw adverse judgments about what that means about Israeli systems.

[Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)]

I almost sympathise with the Minister, because really everybody in the House is exasperated by the lack of action. I represent Dundee, which has been twinned with Nablus on the west bank for the last 45 years. The members of the Dundee-Nablus Twinning Association write to me regularly about positive things that could be done; I will give one example. Given that entirely illegal expansion of the occupied west bank is continuing—there were 34 settlements planned in April alone—the International Court of Justice has directed states not to trade with Israel in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and other European countries such as Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland are taking unilateral steps to ban trade with illegal settlements. The Minister said that he does not want to put things out early, but I think these steps are already under way—why are we not doing this? There is a precedent in UK law and policy for not trading with those who have illegally occupied lands such as Crimea and other illegally occupied parts of Ukraine. Will he please stop making excuses, and outline when the Government will finally uphold their international legal obligations and ban that trade?

[Mr Falconer]

I am reluctant to pass comment on the deliberations of other legislatures. The hon. Member referred to a number of European Union countries; as I am sure he knows, they have not taken steps on trade, as that is a European Union competence. They are discussing whether they might review their association agreement with Israel, but they have not yet done so. I am not in a competition, but I think any reasonable observer would say that the UK has gone further than the EU on these matters.