Israel and Gaza

Debate between Holly Lynch and Andrew Mitchell

Monday 20th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. and learned Lady is an immensely distinguished advocate and lawyer. She will have read the letter signed by no fewer than 600 lawyers that broadly agrees with what she has said, but she may also have read the letter from—I think—1,000 lawyers that disagrees with it. That shows that there are many different interpretations of this matter; hers is one, and as I have set out, the view of the Government is another.

[Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)]

Does the Deputy Foreign Secretary not recognise the damage that is being done to the UK’s standing around the world, and to the rules-based international order and international humanitarian law, by his Government’s refusal to accept first the ICJ ruling and now that of the ICC? He has said that he does not believe that the ICC prosecutor seeking warrants will help, but at what point will he accept that the situation could not get any worse?

[Mr Mitchell]

The point we have always made is that we do not think it is helpful for the Court to intervene in that way at this point, because the main purpose is to get the hostages out and food and humanitarian resources in. That is the position that the British Government take; of course we respect the Court, but that does not mean that we cannot give our view on what the Court does.

War in Gaza

Debate between Holly Lynch and Andrew Mitchell

Tuesday 7th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

I am proud that Britain is doing everything it can and that the Government are bending every sinew to try to resolve this desperate situation and to make sure that we get aid into Gaza—“flood” Gaza with aid, as the Israeli Government have promised—but also get out the hostages, whose families have suffered so much since the appalling pogrom on 7 October.

[Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)]

The Deputy Foreign Secretary has said that he is still waiting to see the military plans from Israel in relation to Rafah, but we are all watching the consequences of the execution of those plans, which is already under way. Part of what we have seen overnight has been the very deliberate destruction of any signage that describes the territory as Gaza, and the taking down of Palestinian flags and replacing them with Israeli flags. That is not necessary in any way to neutralise any security threat. Has he asked Israel what it is doing and why it has done that, and can he give me one example of a consequence now that this red line has been crossed?

[Mr Mitchell]

We continue to make it clear to Israel that it should not in these circumstances be conducting military operations in Rafah until there is a proper plan that ensures it stands by its duties and responsibilities under international humanitarian law.

Israel and Gaza

Debate between Holly Lynch and Andrew Mitchell

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady will be aware that Britain has consistently condemned settler violence. We have made it clear that we expect those responsible to be caught, arrested, tried and punished for it, and we will continue to do so. As she mentions, four settlers have been sanctioned. We do not discuss on the Floor of the House the operations of the sanctions regime, but she may rest assured that the opinion of the Government is that the settlements and the acts that she described are illegal, and we will do everything we can to ensure that they stop.

[Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)]

As MPs from right across the House have said this afternoon, children in Gaza are starving—they are being starved—and we cannot tolerate it. If the UK’s standing on the rules-based order and international humanitarian law is to be worth anything around the world, the ICJ ruling must be binding, and there must be consequences for failure to comply with it. What are those consequences?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady says that people are starving in Gaza. Everyone agrees that that is the case. The issue is what we can constructively do to bring about an end to the very worrying starvation figures that have been revealed this week. We are doing and will continue to do everything we can. I have set out at some length to the House the various different ways in which we are trying to achieve that.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Holly Lynch and Andrew Mitchell

Monday 29th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The review will not be a case of UNRWA marking its own homework. It has specifically accepted that it must be a different part of the United Nations, far away from UNRWA, that makes these judgments. We will look very carefully at what inquiries reveal. I am completely with my hon. Friend on ensuring that nothing like this can happen again. I hope that the independence that is being injected into these inquiries will give him some confidence that we are moving to a different place.

[Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)]

As others have said, the ICJ’s interim ruling could not be more serious, and it sets out urgent provisional measures that must be taken. I am sorry, but the Minister has not yet been clear on this point, so I will ask him again: do the Government agree that Israel has a legal obligation to comply with those measures? What role will the Government play in ensuring that within one month of the ruling, Israel submits a report to the Court on the steps that it has taken to comply with the orders, as it is required to?

[Mr Mitchell]

I think I have answered the point that the hon. Lady makes about the ICJ. Let me reiterate once again that we regularly call on Israel to uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law, and we will continue to do so in all circumstances.

Israel-Hamas War: Diplomacy

Debate between Holly Lynch and Andrew Mitchell

Monday 11th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to emphasise that the economic reconstruction and rebuilding of Gaza will be an essential element in any political settlement. More widely, as I have set out, the Government are trying to make sure that, when there is an opportunity to drive forward that political horizon, that is precisely what we will do.

[Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)]

I have just met with Othman, a constituent from Halifax, who is originally from Gaza and is utterly distressed about what his family back home are enduring. The UN Secretary-General has declared that

“nowhere in Gaza is safe”

for civilians. We know that the aid getting in is utterly insufficient and the humanitarian situation cannot be addressed until the violence ends. I have heard what the Minister has to say, but the humanitarian pauses that have been secured might have felt impossible at the start of this conflict. We urge him to redouble his efforts to work towards an enduring humanitarian ceasefire, which surely is the next logical step.

[Mr Mitchell]

I agree very much with the hon. Lady about the importance of securing a humanitarian pause. That is exactly what we are doing; she will be pleased, like me, to hear that the United Kingdom permanent representative at the United Nations is on a visit to the region at this time to see, among other things, how we can achieve precisely that.

Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation

Debate between Holly Lynch and Andrew Mitchell

Wednesday 8th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

We are very strong supporters of the International Criminal Court, and that has been true under Governments from both the main parties. On the hon. Lady’s important point that we need to see an end to settler violence, the Government entirely agree.

[Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah) set out in the most powerful way why the deaths and trauma experienced by innocent children in Gaza are utterly intolerable. The supply of basic utilities such as water, medicine, electricity and fuel needed to operate the hospitals in Gaza should not be blocked. It is unacceptable that siege conditions are still being imposed on Gaza by Israel. Can the Minister confirm that he agrees, and what has he done to communicate that to Israel as a matter of urgency?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Government at every level are engaged in those discussions with the state of Israel. The hon. Lady lists a number of humanitarian supplies that need to get through, and Britain is at the forefront of the international community in doing everything we can to ensure both that they do get through, and that there are sufficient supplies in the region.