Middle East

Emily Thornberry Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

[Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)]

I welcome the statement by the Minister, his reiteration of the Government’s commitment to international law, and that they are prepared to take further action—and will not hesitate to do so—when it comes to Palestine.

It has been almost two years since the International Court of Justice issued its advisory opinion on Israel and the occupied territories, calling on the Government to take action. Since then, settler violence has exploded; just this week, the UN released a report stating in no uncertain terms that the far-right Israeli Government are weaponising settler violence to carry out their stated intention of annexing the west bank.

In February, we were told that the Government wanted to respond to the advisory opinion with

“the rigour and seriousness that it deserves.”—[Official Report, 5 February 2026; Vol. 780, c. 524.]

In March, the Minister again told us that the Government would update the House on their reaction to the ICJ’s advisory opinion. My question is: when will we stop hesitating and take action to ensure that international law is respected?

[Mr Falconer]

I am grateful to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee for her question, which, as she says, she has put to me before. First, it is important to emphasise that we continue to take steps to ensure that international law is adhered to, and that those principles underline our response both to events in Isael-Palestine and across the wider middle east. I know the House is impatient for a fuller answer in relation to the advisory opinion, even though most of the substantive elements of policy I have addressed from the Dispatch Box.

My right hon. Friend is a learned lawyer herself, so will know that there are some horizontal implications from the advisory opinion that go beyond simply the context in the middle east, which is one reason that we have been taking our time. I will endeavour to return to the House with the speed that she demands, which I understand.