Gaza and Lebanon Debate
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Jeremy Corbyn
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Gaza and Lebanon
Jeremy Corbyn Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government are absolutely clear about the fundamental importance of the international rule of humanitarian law, and about the fact that it must be applied without fear or favour, whoever we are talking about and wherever in the world they are. The UK respects the jurisdiction and independence of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and the hon. Member can see that commitment to the rule of law reflected in many decisions that the new Government have made—including, of course, the review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law in respect of its activity in Gaza, which led to the suspension of about 30 arms export licences to Israel.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
The Minister has rightly acknowledged the abominable situation faced by people in Gaza and in southern Lebanon at the present time. The fundamental question asked by the hon. Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) was simply this: if we condemn the acts being undertaken by the Israel Defence Forces—the killing of civilians, and the killing of people in hospitals and schools—why are we still supplying Israel with the weapons that enable them to undertake these military activities?
Anneliese Dodds
In the repeated messages that we have conveyed to Israeli counterparts, the UK Government have been absolutely clear about the need to take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties, to allow unfettered aid into Gaza through all land routes, and to enable the UN and its humanitarian partners to operate effectively. As I have said many times during these exchanges, we have also been very clear on the subject of attacks on UNIFIL. The right hon. Member is, I believe, well aware of the decisions taken by the UK Government in respect of the arms export regime, and I will not go over that again, because we have already debated it in the House.