Israel: E1 Zone Expansion

Mark Pritchard Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I would not want there to be any ambiguity about the force of our views about what is going on in the west bank. That is why we have done four rounds of sanctions and why I am setting out clearly today what the likely consequences are, should that action continue. The advisory opinion of the ICJ is important, but it is a non-binding opinion of an international court. We do not need to make a judgment on that opinion in order to take action. Indeed, we have taken considerable action over the last two years in the way in which I have set out.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

I have said it before and I will say it again: I believe that the life of a Palestinian child is as precious as that of an Israeli child. That is the foundation of all of my views on this. May I congratulate the Minister for the middle east, and indeed the Prime Minister, who is not in his place, on having the courage and the leadership to recognise the Palestinian state when they did so? I supported that and continue to do so.

Indeed, this urgent question justifies that position last September, because at that point we were all concerned that the viability of a Palestinian state was reducing as the weeks went by. We have seen that the extant policy of the current Israeli Government is to continue those illegal occupations and expansion. Will the Minister tell the House the latest on his discussions with Washington about the board of peace and reconstructing Gaza, ensuring that there is a viable Palestinian state? Finally, what is his view on whether the current Israeli Government’s position is likely to pertain beyond this autumn?

[Mr Falconer]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the question. We are clearly speaking in the run-up to an Israeli election campaign. Elections are likely in October, and there is, as in any democratic country, a particularly heavy amount of policy positioning by various parties. We are calling on all Israeli politicians to abide by the basic principles of both international law and the very important 20-point plan to which he alluded. I have spoken to officials at the board of peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza as well as the Palestinian Authority. It is vital that we make progress on that plan. There are still insufficient quantities of aid getting into Gaza and unresolved questions about the disarmament of Hamas. We are playing our full role behind the scenes to try to make progress on those questions, but the situation is becoming urgent indeed, both in the west bank and in Gaza.