Israel and Palestine Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Gavin Newlands
Main Page: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)Department Debates - View all Gavin Newlands's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(4 months ago)
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Mr Mitchell
Yes, Mr Speaker, I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. He refers to the £2 million that was specifically allocated to the convoy from Jordan, but he should be aware that the contribution Britain is making is far more extensive and includes four air flights into el-Arish and the naval operation I described, in addition to what we seek to do in opening the new route from Jordan.
Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)
Northern Gaza lies in ruins. The Minister, when he was on the Back Benches, said in 2022 that Aleppo had been
“bombed back to the stone age”
and spoke of “indiscriminate attacks on hospitals” and
“massive breaches of the rules of war and of international humanitarian law”.—[Official Report, 15 March 2022; Vol. 710, c. 835.]
The then Minister of State, now the Home Secretary, speaking on the Syrian situation in 2020, said that nearly 300 civilians—not 23,000 civilians—
“have been killed in Idlib in Aleppo since 1 January… International humanitarian law continues to be ignored, with civilian infrastructure being hit probably as a result of active targeting… The UK has condemned…these flagrant violations of international law and basic human decency... We have repeatedly pressed—including at the UN Security Council—for an immediate…ceasefire.”—[Official Report, 24 February 2020; Vol. 672, c. 23.]
The Minister has said today that it is not for him to decide what is a war crime. Why are this Government so quick—and rightly—to condemn Russia’s war crimes, but not Israel’s war crimes?
Mr Mitchell
The British Government and indeed the Opposition stand up for international humanitarian law and condemn breaches of it whenever they take place. That is why from this Dispatch Box, throughout these terrible days since 7 October, we have consistently appealed to everyone to stand by international humanitarian law and obey what it says.