Israel and Palestine
Debate between Ed Miliband and Edward Leigh(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
Those of us who love the Jewish people and faith know that the reason why they have overcome all the empires that have tried to destroy them is that they are primarily people of the book and not the sword, but what is happening in the west bank is violent and egregious. It is worse than stopping the two-state solution; it is ethnic cleansing.
Does the Secretary of State agree that the Israeli Government could quite easily differentiate between general trade and trade to these illegal settlements? Does he agree that there is no reason, when our country fully supports the right of Israel to defend itself, why this should affect our intelligence relationship? As the longest serving member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, I am proud to say that I absolutely and fully support what he is doing today, because it is about standing up for freedom, for morality and for justice for all people in this world.
Ed Miliband
I thank the Father of the House for his words. I read his extremely eloquent contribution to the Back-Bench debate on these questions that took place in July, and I was incredibly moved by his words in that debate. He is absolutely right in the way that he talks about these issues. He is absolutely right to say that he and I consider ourselves deep friends of Israel. That is absolutely consistent with and, I would argue, necessary for what we are doing today, because there can be no security for the people of Israel without a two-state solution. The actions of its Government over the past few years has not made Israel more secure; they have made it less secure, and that should trouble all friends of Israel across this country and across the world.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Ed Miliband and Edward Leigh(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Ed Miliband
Yes, that sounds really good. Community energy is a crucial part of our energy future.
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
Ed Miliband
The right hon. Gentleman and I do not necessarily agree on everything, but on this we do agree. The transformation of the West Burton site from a fossil fuel-fired power station to a fusion power plant is an incredibly exciting project, and we should all be battling for it.