Middle East

Lorraine Beavers Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

The hon. Member will know that RAF Fairford is a US base. We were clear at the beginning of this conflict that we would not support the use of the base for offensive action against Iran as part of the conflict. Once Iran started to strike Gulf partners, including their civilian infrastructure—their airports and other assets—and to put lives at risk, including those of British citizens, we provided support for air defences directly. UK assets provided that support and we enabled basing support for US operations. That was the right thing to do to defend our partners who were facing Iranian strikes. There is a difference between the offensive approach and the defensive approach, which is the one we have taken.

[Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

In Gaza, the west bank and Lebanon, Israel continues to violate international law with total impunity. I welcome the Secretary of State’s actions against individuals and networks that enable settler violence, but it just does not go far enough. Why will she not at least commit to banning all trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and introduce a comprehensive sanctions regime against the Israeli state?

[Yvette Cooper]

We have strongly distinguished between the illegal settlements and the Israeli state. We also distinguish between the illegal settlements and businesses in all parts of Israel that have long traded across the world, including with the UK, many of whose owners or investors may strongly disagree with things that the Israeli Government are doing or with illegal settlements and settler violence. It is important to separate out Israeli businesses more widely and the specific issue of illegal settlements.

We do not want to see trade with illegal settlements, we do not want to see UK businesses operating within those settlements, either in financial or economic activity, and we certainly do not want to see them supporting construction contracts for the E1 settlement. That is why we have introduced this new wave of sanctions to target the organisations that have been most strongly linked with facilitating and funding those most linked with settler violence.