Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation
Debate between Dawn Butler and Patricia Ferguson(4 days, 11 hours ago)
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Patricia Ferguson
My hon. Friend makes a very valid point that I was just about to come to, so it is very timely. I think our Government have to work very hard with the international community to try to find a way—and hard it will be—to bypass the Israeli Government and ensure that we manage to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. We already know that some of the aid convoys have been disrupted in recent times since the Knesset decision, and we have to find ways of getting that aid in. The aid is there, but it is being stopped, it is being looted and it is being prevented from getting to those who need it.
Dawn Butler (Brent East) (Lab)
We are all moved by these stories, and when we see the pain in the eyes of the children, we think: where has our compassion, our humanity, gone? There have also been some reports that aid has gone into schools, for instance, and those schools have then been bombed, so therefore there is no aid. Does my hon. Friend agree that we have to be serious about ensuring that this crisis ends soon?
Patricia Ferguson
I agree with my hon. Friend that we have to redouble our efforts, and we have to do more than just talk about what is happening in Gaza; we have to act to ensure that this comes to a conclusion as quickly as possible.