Israel and Palestine

Danny Beales Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

The concerns that the right hon. Gentleman raises are very serious, and he can be absolutely assured that the Government want to root out antisemitism in all its forms in this country, and indeed in every walk of life, whether in the health service or in education; I have heard very concerning examples of antisemitic incidents in schools and universities. That is why this Government are investing not only in the security of Jewish communities in this country, but in specific measures in public services. I take very seriously any concerns that he raises; of course, he has distinguished medical experience himself.

It is also important to recognise that next month will mark three years since the atrocity of 7 October, which was, as the Foreign Secretary said,

“a murderous act by a murderous terrorist organisation designed to massacre and instil fear across a whole population.”—[Official Report, 8 September 2026; Vol. 790, c. 879.]

It was designed not only to cause death and destruction in Israel, but to instil fear across the world. This was the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust, and I want to be clear again that there is no justification for the actions of Hamas, or their rejection of the peaceful co-existence of Israelis and Palestinians. They can play no part in that future, and they must disarm.

We avidly and continuously support the 20-point plan, and the efforts to bring about peace and a secure future for the people in Gaza and across the whole of Palestine. I also want to make it clear, as the Foreign Secretary did, that we reject those who make any attempt to de-legitimise Israel, or to support the so-called BDS— boycott, divestment and sanctions—movement. Our disagreements are with the Government of Israel and their actions, not with Israel, and certainly not with the Israeli people.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend mentions the commitment to peace long term, but unfortunately it has never seemed further away than it does today. Peace will involve building bridges between communities in Palestine and Israel, and supporting civil society, which has been under attack, in Gaza and in Israel, unfortunately, by the Government. My hon. Friend’s predecessor and the last Prime Minister committed to the international peace fund, which many of us were advocating for. Can my hon. Friend provide an update on the Government’s position on the peace fund, and their support, I hope, for its continuation and growth? What role does he think it can play in building these bridges?

[Stephen Doughty]

I wholeheartedly support the type of work that my hon. Friend describes; indeed, he has been involved in various initiatives over the years, in a range of conflict contexts. He will be happy to know that I have just answered some parliamentary questions on the international peace fund; that will hopefully provide him with the reassurances that he seeks.

The appalling reality in Gaza and the west bank is placing the two-state solution that we all want to see under immense strain, as are the actions of this Israeli Government. As the Foreign Secretary has set out, Gazans have endured unimaginable trauma and suffering for three years. There is increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed, and we support legal processes to determine whether that is so. At the same time, we are witnessing unprecedented violence on the west bank, including settler terrorism and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by settler terrorists. We condemn settler violence and settlement expansion, which are contrary to international law and a grave threat to the two-state solution.

The question has been asked: why now? Why was it necessary for the Government to act? I will set out clearly the reasons for doing so. We need to recognise that last year was a record year for new settlements. In August, we saw a long-standing red line crossed when the E1 tenders were issued for more than 1,200 homes. The Foreign Secretary pointed out that at the time of Oslo, around 270,000 settlers lived in Occupied Palestinian Territories. Today it is some 750,000, and more settlements have been approved in the four years of this Israeli Government than in the previous 20 years. We have seen 65 Palestinian communities completely expelled since October 2023 and a total of over 4,000 Palestinians evicted from their homes due to settler violence and state actions. This Government refuse to stand by and watch further suffering and the destruction of the two-state solution.

Israel: E1 Zone Expansion

Danny Beales Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I hesitate to commit the Government to primary legislation. The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act has been sufficient for the four waves so far, but I have heard my hon. Friend’s important points.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

These settlements are not “unhelpful”, as the Opposition have claimed today; they are illegal. My constituents and I are horrified by the ongoing settler violence and the expansion of these illegal settlements. In that context, I welcome the Minister’s clear condemnation and the further actions he has committed to today. Will he assure me and my constituents that his Department is working with Treasury colleagues to fully map and understand the exposure of UK financial institutions to the financing of illegal settlements, their expansion and trade within them? When his Department and the Treasury understand that, are they committed to taking action against those institutions?

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his commitment to these issues. I know that the people of Uxbridge have raised them with him many times and he has not failed to reflect that to me. We are taking actions in the way that I have set out, and I expressed the range of concern that we have about financing for the settlements in my answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds).

Iran

Danny Beales Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I have set out our commitments to international law, and I will not provide hypotheticals.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s announcements about new sanctions on individuals responsible for the brutal treatment of protesters and the vile murder of 30,000 people, but human rights abuses on this scale are never the responsibility of a handful of individuals. They are systemic; they are state-wide actions. That is why I would like to press the Minister again about the decision to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. I know that the legislation would need to be drawn up carefully, but this House rapidly passed emergency legislation to save British Steel and, more recently, to update medical training regulations. Can the Minister confirm that we are moving at pace to introduce emergency legislation that fully proscribes the IRGC? Can he also update us about the UK’s efforts to bring this matter to the UN Security Council?

[Mr Falconer]

As I set out in my statement, we brought this matter to the United Nations Human Rights Council, and we will continue to raise it with the United Nations, in the way that Members would expect. I want to reassure the House that I understand the points that hon. Members from across the House are making, but we have already sanctioned the entirety of the IRGC. The sanctions that we have announced are far-reaching, as indeed are the foreign influence registration scheme steps. We will bring forward legislation, but I would not wish to get ahead of the Leader of the House when it comes to setting out the timetable.

Chagossians: Trust Fund and Resettlement

Danny Beales Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

In the spirit of Christmas, I will not respond to allegations of betrayal. I suspect that Conservative Members will want to chunter throughout this discussion, but they might remind themselves who started these negotiations and on what basis. No doubt they will wish throughout this session to focus on transfer of sovereignty, but they might remind themselves what their negotiating position was when they were in government.

Let me turn to the questions asked by the right hon. Lady. I am pleased to inform the House that we met the Chagossian contact group on both 2 and 8 December. The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), who leads on these issues, has been very keen to ensure that he hears the full range of views from Chagossians in the UK. I understand, as I know Opposition Members also understand, that there is a range of views among the Chagossian community—they do not speak with one voice—and this Government are trying to listen to all of those views.

The shadow Foreign Secretary asked about the ratification of the treaty. As she knows, the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill will have its Third Reading in the House of Lords in the new year. No doubt this will be discussed further then, as it was in this House. This treaty will be scrutinised properly in the normal way, and all of these points will be surfaced.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s clarification that the Chagossian community will be involved in the operation of the trust fund.

Turning to support in the UK for the Chagossian community, which is a significant issue, the previous Government—including Conservative Members who now sit on the Opposition Benches, pretending they have no idea where some of these issues come from—legislated in 2022 to expand the rights of Chagossians to settle here in the UK and to claim citizenship up to 2027. I represent the port authority of Hillingdon, and we are seeing a significant movement of people based on the historical rights given by the Conservatives without adequate planning. Will the Minister and his team meet me to discuss the adequacy of the support available in the UK, and how we can stop playing politics with this complex historical issue and continue to find solutions?

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I will ensure he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.

Africa: New Approach

Danny Beales Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I do not accept that it is a timid approach. We have set out seven principles of a new approach following hundreds of consultations launched by the previous Foreign Secretary, but I heard what the right hon. Member said, as the Africa Minister will have done.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s new approach to Africa and the shift from discussion of the continent and our role as donors to that of investors and partners. In the last 50 years we have seen the importance of Asia, with the tiger economies of India and China driving the global economy. It is quite clear that the next 50 years will be an African future, with demographic growth, economic growth and the role of critical minerals and other resources in Africa. I welcome recognition of the importance of that in the approach. In the light of the continent’s growing importance, will we see a shift in FCDO and diplomatic resources to ensure that our resources to discuss and build those relationships align with the new strategy and the continent’s importance?

[Mr Falconer]

As my hon. Friend would expect, our resources will indeed reflect our strategy. However, as I said earlier, ODA allocations will be announced in the new year, as of course will questions about the laydown of the Foreign Office.

Air India Plane Crash

Danny Beales Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I understand the force and the emotion behind my hon. Friend’s question. I have spoken to families about the obvious agonies of the process of identification. I will look into the circumstance that he describes. He mentioned the Indian High Commission, to whom I pass on my thanks for its hard work, particularly in rapidly facilitating visas for family members to be able to go out to see their loved ones.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

My constituency has a significant Indian community, and there has been collective grief and dismay at this tragic event. I am sure that members of the community will welcome the Minister’s condolences, as do I, for the families affected, both here in the UK and in India. I welcome the Minister’s statement and his confirmation of support on the ground for the affected families, but will he keep the consulate’s resources under review, both in capacity and locations of support, as events unfold? I welcome the confirmation that British crash investigators are on site to provide support, but will the Minister confirm that he is in close dialogue with the Department for Transport to ensure all UK resources and expertise in this area are available and can be deployed, to get the families the answers that they deserve so much?

[Mr Falconer]

I confirm to my hon. Friend that we will, of course, keep our consular response under review, as events develop. I can also confirm that there remains close co-ordination between the Foreign Office and the Department for Transport. The Foreign Secretary, the Secretary of State for Transport and I were all in the first ministerial Cobra in response to the incident, and I know the Transport Secretary continues to have a close engagement in these issues.

Kashmir: Increasing Tension

Danny Beales Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

If my hon. Friend would like a statement, he can stay for 45 minutes and he will get another one from me. We have been in direct contact with both India and Pakistan, and we will continue to do so.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his condolences and for his strong condemnation of this horrific terror attack. In recent days, I have been contacted by hundreds of families in my constituency who have been horrified by these events. It is clear that the awful terror attack in Kashmir has sent shockwaves through the British Indian community and the global Hindu community more broadly. My constituents have spoken overwhelmingly of justice, and understandably so. We all want to see peace and de-escalation, but understanding that people will be held to account for these horrific crimes is vital to getting there.

I would just like to press the Minister a little more to be clear that the UK Government, when they stand with India, are doing all they can to identify the parties responsible for these events and those who support and fund them, so that they can be held to account and justice can be found.

Oral Answers to Questions

Danny Beales Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

We continue to work closely with the American Administration, and we look forward to doing so with the new Administration. It is regrettably true that Iran’s nuclear programme has never been more advanced, and it threatens international peace and security. We remain determined that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon, and we remain committed to a diplomatic solution to achieve that.

[Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

12. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)]

The scale of humanitarian suffering in Gaza is catastrophic and unacceptable. The UK condemns Israel’s restrictions on aid in the strongest terms. This is a man-made crisis, and Israel must act immediately to address it.

[Danny Beales]

The aid agencies I have spoken to are particularly concerned about access to medical facilities and critical shortages of medical supplies in Gaza, particularly northern Gaza. In the light of that, what steps are the Government taking to get additional medical supplies to Gaza for both Palestinians and Israeli hostages in desperate humanitarian situations?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this incredibly important issue. In December, I saw for myself in Jordan how medical aid had been blocked from entering Gaza. As I have said before, the position that the UK Government have articulated at every possible juncture is that restrictions on lifesaving aid must end. The UK continues to provide core healthcare relief items, and has provided 76,000 wound care kits, 1.3 million items of medicine, and critical funding for UK-Med to run its field hospitals in Gaza.