Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Patricia Ferguson]

I agree with my hon. Friend that we have to redouble our efforts, and we have to do more than just talk about what is happening in Gaza; we have to act to ensure that this comes to a conclusion as quickly as possible.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I thank my good and hon. Friend for giving way, and I congratulate her on securing this very important debate. “Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged” is the title of a new report from Human Rights Watch, which refers to 1.9 million Palestinians being forcibly displaced. So, does she think that the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor should see this action as a crime against humanity and look at imposing targeted sanctions immediately, alongside the humanitarian aid going in?

[Patricia Ferguson]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. With the news that the Israeli Government have banned UNRWA from working in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem, and that even conversations between UNRWA staff and Israeli officials will be banned, the 2 million people who are currently dependant on UNRWA aid are made even more vulnerable as winter approaches, especially because, as she said, most Palestinians have been displaced at least once, if not more often, and many are now living in makeshift tents. And when I say “tents”, I emphasise that they are not “tents” as we understand tents to be; they are collections of fabric, cardboard and anything that can be scrounged or scavenged, assembled to try to give some shelter to very vulnerable families.

So, it is incumbent upon us as a country to do everything we can to end this carnage and to help those most in need. I hope that today the Minister here in Westminster Hall might be able to tell us that the UK will vote to support a ceasefire when the resolution comes before the UN Security Council later today.