Israel and Gaza

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Monday 23rd October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his constructive comments and his support. Just to recap, on humanitarian aid, by announcing an additional £20 million today, we will be doubling our aid to the region, where we are already one of the leading contributors of any country in the world. The Development Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), will remind me, but I think that about 10% of the UN mission in the region is funded by UK contributions. Most of our aid is funnelled through that. It is also worth bearing in mind that President Sisi specifically commended the efforts of the UK alongside the US in ensuring that the Rafah crossing could be open and functioning. That is testament to the work of the Development Minister, the Foreign Secretary and our team on the ground.

In response to the Leader of the Opposition’s question with regard to the UN, the Development Minister is in close contact—on an almost daily basis—with Martin Griffiths, the head of the UN’s humanitarian relief efforts, to ensure that the UK can play a leading role in supporting what is happening on the ground. There are considerable logistical challenges in getting aid to the people who need it, and there are areas where we can make a difference, particularly around el-Arish, the logistical hub that supplies are moving to. I confirm that tomorrow the Development Minister will lay a written ministerial statement setting out further details of the increase in humanitarian aid that we have announced today.

In closing, I concur with what the Leader of the Opposition said. There is absolutely a future available to us that is more prosperous and more stable for people living in the region; one where people can live with dignity, with security and with opportunity. That is the future that Hamas are trying to destroy. We should stand united to stop that happening.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Did my right hon. Friend get any impression from his discussions with Arab leaders that they understood the purpose of Hamas terrorism to derail their efforts to find a better way of living in the middle east? Was he satisfied that they were sufficiently aware of the benefit that Russia hopes to derive from all this and the need to deter Iran from further escalation?

[The Prime Minister]

I can tell my right hon. Friend from all my conversations across the region with Arab leaders that there is absolutely no love or affection for Hamas. Indeed, it is the opposite, as the Palestinian President said with me when he condemned in no uncertain terms the terrorist atrocities that they have perpetrated. All leaders see Hamas as a destabilising influence in the region and want to work with us and others to prevent the situation from escalating and to limit Hamas’s ability to carry out attacks like this in the future.