Israel and Palestine

John Slinger Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I, too, pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). I say more widely that my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) is right: we need to work with our international partners—at this time of all times—to uphold international law in Gaza, in the west bank and elsewhere.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

I am a strong supporter of the right of the state of Israel to exist in security and prosperity and of the state of Palestine to exist in security and prosperity. Does my right hon. Friend agree that to achieve that, it is essential that the very welcome measures he has outlined take place at pace? We can demonstrate that the state of Israel, under the current Israeli Government, does not get to determine the destiny of the west bank and, for that matter, Gaza.

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I say to Members of the House that while I am critical of the current Israeli Government, this occupation has become entrenched over a long period. We have to work to unwind it and find ways in which we can get back to a two-state solution, and we have to act urgently.