Middle East Update

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend has a deep commitment to these issues; he raises them here and elsewhere often. Let me be clear: any attempt to annex land in Gaza would be unacceptable. Palestinian territory must not be reduced or subjected to any demographic change. He can read from that the strength of our views on some of the announcements made by some of those associated with the Israeli Government. We want to see a Palestinian state that can function safely, side by side with a safe Israeli state, and it is regrettable that that seems like such a distant prospect. I am sure that we will continue this discussion in the House in the weeks and months to come.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

In the light of the latest outrage from the Netanyahu Government in displacing hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians, which comes on top of the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, the murdering of aid workers and the expansion of violence by settlers, we get from the Minister strong opposition, a request for “urgent clarity” and a reiteration of his “outrage”. He says that he is taking action, but he can hear from all sides of the House that nobody is satisfied with the level of action that the British Government are taking. I implore him to listen to the support from all sides of the House, recognise a Palestinian state, impose a full arms embargo on Israel and sanction Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. In the name of God, as others have said, please can we get aid into Gaza so that people will stop starving?

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Lady is right to press on the absolutely vital importance of aid getting into Gaza. Those are points that we make regularly and with force to the Israeli Government. Part of my anguish is about the reports that I read, as so many in the House do, of the continued failure for that to happen. I will address a point that I think she may have made, which others have also made, about whether there are alternative routes to get aid into Gaza. A range of alternative routes, other than through the land crossing, have been tried. It is the view of the British Government that no route other than a land route can get the scale of aid that is now required into Gaza. Israeli decision making is preventing those land routes from being in operation. The hon. Lady asks about the recognition of a Palestinian state, and I refer her to my previous answers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

I can hear the chuntering from the shadow Minister, but it is simply not correct—we are protecting Diego Garcia, our interests there and our national security. I am afraid that I simply do not accept what he is saying, and of course, if there was not a problem, why did his Government start the negotiations in the first place?

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

Yesterday in Madrid, I discussed with counterparts strengthening Ukraine’s hand. With Mr Speaker in Kyiv yesterday, the House is united on Ukraine.

One year on from the appalling Israel Defence Forces strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy that killed James Kirby, John Chapman and James Henderson, I am sure that the whole House mourns their loss and calls for accountability. We will keep demanding protection for all civilians and aid workers in Gaza, and will strive to restore the ceasefire, free hostages and end the war.

[Munira Wilson]

Research published by UNICEF shows that last time the overseas aid budget was cut, support for children—for their education and nutrition—was cut the deepest. Will the Foreign Secretary give assurances to this House that this time, children will not bear the brunt of his cuts, and will he commit to protect child-focused development programmes?

[Mr Lammy]

The last time that the development budget was cut, it was cut overnight. The Government abolished the Department for International Development, leading to terrible cliff edges and badly damaging our reputation in the world. We are not throwing the money that we have had to withdraw from development into a black hole, as the last Government did; we are investing in hard power. The hon. Lady will recognise that the war in Ukraine has cost the continent of Africa upwards of £7 billion. For that reason, it is important that we invest in hard power and diplomacy, and that we continue to invest in development. We will still be the sixth biggest development partner.

Oral Answers to Questions

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill) (Lab/Co-op)]

14. What steps he is taking to help tackle the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

16. What steps his Department is taking to support people affected by the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

21. What steps his Department is taking to help tackle food insecurity in Sudan.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anneliese Dodds]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue, because the situation she has described is intolerable. I was grateful to the international counterparts who attended a discussion on these subjects, in which we took part, at the Munich security conference. My hon. Friend referred to the famine designation. We regret the fact that the Sudanese armed forces have said that they will not co-operate with that assessment, but we have seen both the RSF and the SAF restricting aid and using it as a weapon of war, and that must end.

[Munira Wilson]

The Genocide80Twenty campaign group at Hampton school in my constituency recently met members of the Darfur diaspora who have fled the atrocities in Sudan, and they would like to know what the UK Government are doing to help those targeted simply for who they are. With a staggering 16 million children desperately needing food, shelter, healthcare and education, could I ask the Minister for assurances that we will not see any cuts to UK aid to the region, and what assessment has she has made of the impact of the Trump Administration’s cuts to US aid?

[Anneliese Dodds]

The hon. Member is right to raise the disturbing accounts of atrocities that we have heard. She will be pleased to know that the UK led efforts to renew the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission mandate last October, and I was very pleased to see additional African countries coming on board with that. We have doubled our aid to Sudan, so that commitment is not in doubt.

Israel and Palestine

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Andy Slaughter]

Standing Together is a fantastic group, and it is one of many Israeli and multinational groups that are protesting; we have seen that on the streets of Tel Aviv, as we have around the world.

There is yet to be any substantive action by the UK, and war crimes are being committed in Gaza. The evidence is clear; it is clear from journalists, and many brave journalists have been killed. It is evidenced by the actions of the International Criminal Court and from the ICJ, through both its advisory opinion and the South African case, and the Irish Government should be praised for their association with that case last week. It is clear from votes, decisions and debates in the UN, from the evidence of non-governmental organisations on the ground, and from the evidence of medics.

The remedies are also clear, and there are many steps that the UK Government could take. They could look at trade, including settlement trade. Why is that allowed to continue? They could at preferential trade agreements with Israel. They could look at arms sales. They should certainly be re-examining, and asking the law officers to re-examine, on a weekly basis, the actions that UK-supplied arms are being used for—not just in Gaza, but across the occupied territories. They could look at sanctions, including those against settlers that go much further than the few that have happened so far, as well as against members of the Netanyahu Government—particularly the extremists such as Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. Why have they not been taken so far?

We could also look at the question of recognition. It is the policy of the Government to recognise the state of Palestine at some point during negotiations. We are a long way from negotiations at the moment, and there seems to be no reason whatever not to allow recognition.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that now is the time to provide hope to Palestinians? If we are to have any hope of a political solution, this country must follow our allies in recognising the state of Palestine—not least when extremists such as Smotrich in the Israeli Government are looking to annex the west bank.

[Andy Slaughter]

I could not agree more. I cannot think of a single reason why we are not moving, as many other European countries have, towards immediate recognition. I heard previously from the Government, “We do not want to go it alone.” Well, now we are not just going it alone; we are going behind the curve.

My final point—I do not want to take all my time—is to ask one question to the Government: why have the actions I have mentioned not been taken? I would like to hear a coherent response because what is being said is, “We will not take action against Israel because it is an ally.” Well, sometimes we have to speak as sternly to our allies as to our foes. It is also said that Israel will ignore what we say, so we will be shown as a weak country. That is a counsel of despair.

Alternatively, we may be waiting until such time as something more extreme happens—aid no longer going into Gaza, following what is happening with UNRWA, or the threatened annexation of the west bank—and then we will take some action. That is too late. Now is the time—actually, yesterday, last year, or even 10 years ago was the time to take action. I would love to hear from the Minister, who is not only an expert in the field but cares very much about these issues, about what action his Government is going to take.

Israel and Gaza

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Friday 19th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. I know that he has championed the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people in this House for many, many years. He pushes me on an important subject. May I say to him—he is an esteemed lawyer, so he understands why I am choosing my words carefully—that this is a quasi-legal process and it is important that I follow the actions in the appropriate way, with all probity and integrity? I will consider those assessments when they are made available to me. I instigated a process on my first day in office. I am supported in that by our Attorney General, and I hope to be able to make my views known with full accountability and transparency.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

I welcome the Foreign Secretary to his place and I welcome the decision to restore UNRWA funding and the overall change of tone from his predecessors on this issue. The Liberal Democrats have long called for arms sales to Israel to be suspended while there are questions over its human rights record. As shadow Foreign Secretary, he called on the Conservative Government to publish the legal advice that they had received on this matter. Will he commit to doing so now?

[Mr Lammy]

The hon. Lady will have heard what was just said to my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and Fulham—[Interruption.] The boundaries have changed and he is now my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and Chiswick (Andy Slaughter)—Hammersmith has gone more upmarket! [Interruption.] Members will understand that, as the Member for Tottenham, I think that I can get away with that.

In all seriousness, because this is a very serious point, I will seek to make my decision with full accountability and transparency.

Israel and Gaza

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

I am grateful to the former Chair of the Defence Committee for what he says. He is right that the best way to get aid into Gaza is by truck—by road—and that is what Britain has consistently pressed for. We know that there were 500 trucks a day before the catastrophe of 7 October. There has been an increase in March, but we are now looking at something like 150 a day. We are doing everything we can to try to ensure that we get aid into Gaza in the easiest way possible, but as my right hon. Friend said, we are also looking at all other options, including the airdrop that took place yesterday on 25 March in which the Royal Air Force dropped 10 tonnes of food. We anticipate that further airdrops will be necessary because of the situation he has outlined.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Can I set the record straight for Conservative Members that we on the Liberal Democrat Benches have been calling for months for an immediate bilateral ceasefire, and that we welcome yesterday’s UN Security Council resolution? However, the reality is that northern Gaza is on the brink of famine, with children dying of malnutrition, and tens of thousands of children are being killed or maimed by Israeli forces’ bombardment. Does the Minister believe that Netanyahu’s Government are complying with the International Court of Justice’s provisional order, which states that Israel must ensure with immediate effect that its forces do not commit any of the acts prohibited by the genocide convention? If he does not think that the Israeli Government are complying with that order, what is he doing about it?

[Mr Mitchell]

In respect of the second part of the hon. Lady’s question, let me make the Government’s position clear: we respect the role and independence of the ICJ, but we do not believe, and have never believed, that the case launched now will be helpful in bringing the two parties together. She will know that the court has called for the immediate release of the hostages and the need to get more aid into Gaza, and we strongly agree with that. She will also know that the ICJ’s provisional measures order is binding on the parties to the dispute as a matter of international law, but she will see that through the work we have been carrying out, we are trying to address all the points that she made in the first part of her question. We are obviously grateful for the support of Liberal Democrat Members in trying to achieve that.

Israel-Hamas War: Diplomacy

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Monday 11th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is not, I think, straying from the policy that has been set out by his Front Benchers. We all want to see those pauses develop so that urgently needed humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, so in that respect, I think that he and the Government are in agreement.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

I have heard the Minister’s explanation of why the UK made the deeply disappointing decision not to support the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire. Over the weekend, he may have heard the comments of Tom Fletcher—a former ambassador and No. 10 adviser—who said that when the UK supported such a resolution in 2009, it helped to move the US away from a veto and towards abstention, ultimately securing a ceasefire. Is the Minister at risk of letting the best be the enemy of the good, when we should be grabbing every possible opportunity to end the bloodshed and the suffering that we see in Gaza?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Government are doing everything we possibly can. I have set out clearly the difficulties of achieving a ceasefire when neither of the prime parties to it is willing to accept it. I hope that the hon. Lady will reflect on that.

Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Wednesday 8th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Lady describes an extremely difficult situation, one that has been ventilated in the press, where we have seen that women are having to give birth in the most hideous of circumstances. What I can say to her is that if we are able to get aid in, we have specific humanitarian aid and support for mothers of babies—for mothers who have just given birth—and when we are able to get access in that respect, we will do everything we can to meet that need.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Thousands of children are dead. Many more are traumatised, millions are being starved, and as we have heard, the UN has described Gaza as becoming a “graveyard for children”. We all agree that Israel has the right to respond to the senseless and brutal attack of 7 October, but many of us, including hundreds of my constituents, believe that this response is utterly disproportionate. With the UN, the WHO, and the lead prosecutor of the ICC warning of breaches of international law, will the Minister explain to the House what it will take for his Government to stand up to Netanyahu and his extremist Ministers and make clear that this abject suffering simply cannot, and must not, continue?

[Mr Mitchell]

Because we are strongly supportive of Israel’s right to self-defence—we have been absolutely clear about that throughout these dreadful circumstances, as have the Opposition—we are able to have clear and firm discussions with the Prime Minister of Israel, and that is what we do.

Gaza: Al-Ahli Arab Hospital Explosion

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Wednesday 18th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

I am genuinely baffled by this. I understand that the BBC says that to do so would be to take sides, but I fundamentally disagree with that. The BBC has used the word “terrorist” on a number of occasions, both domestically and internationally, and I just do not understand why it cannot bring itself to describe Hamas as terrorists, because that is what they are.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

It is imperative that we get to the bottom of the terrible tragedy that unfolded at the hospital last night, and hold to account whoever was responsible. When I visited the region last year, I saw and heard just how difficult it is to supply medical care to the Palestinians. Hospitals across Gaza now face running out of food, fuel and water, and several have been given evacuation orders which, according to the World Health Organisation, patients will not survive. May I urge the Foreign Secretary once again to join the United Nations in calling for the immediate resumption of essential supplies to Gaza in line with international humanitarian law, which he says he keeps calling for?

[James Cleverly]

The hon. Lady has repeated a question that has been asked in the House a number of times, and she will have heard the answers that I have given on each of those occasions.

Libya Floods

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[David Rutley]

As I say, we have made our initial offer of support. We continue to have an active dialogue with the Libyan authorities and the UN. As I said to the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for West Ham (Ms Brown), the key thing today is that we are waiting for the UN needs assessment, so we can then give our best assessment of what sort of support we need to help to provide.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

The tragic scenes we are witnessing in Libya are utterly horrifying; my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. During the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, my noble Friend Lord Purvis asked

“why the Government’s humanitarian crisis reserve, which recently stood at £500 million, has now been depleted to only £30 million, which means that the UK’s response to any other emergencies or disasters will be greatly reduced.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 6 March 2023; Vol. 828, c. 642.]

Has that significant reduction in a crisis reserve for humanitarian assistance affected our ability to help those in Libya?

[David Rutley]

I think hon. Members will agree that we responded fast to the situation in Morocco. It is very sad that this tragedy follows so quickly afterwards, and we want to respond to it quickly too. Part of the challenge has been understanding the situation on the ground. We know the macro picture, but the exact detail that the Government and hon. Members want to see is difficult to ascertain because of problems with communication links and transportation, but we will get a better assessment this afternoon.