Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Waugh Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The Father of the House, my constituency neighbour, can hear the strong support for his remarks from Members on the Government Benches.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

As the Father of the House just referenced, I was in Israel, on the west bank, last week, and two things became instantly clear. There was widespread revulsion at the sickening desecration of the bodies of the Israeli hostages by Hamas, and there was widespread fear among Palestinians, particularly those in rural areas whom we met, who had first-hand experience of their children having stones thrown at them by settlers, their neighbours having their cars torched and their own windscreens being smashed every night. Will the Minister reassure us that those extremist settlers will be dealt with really thoroughly in our foreign policy?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend sets out some of the horrific scenes that have come out of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in recent weeks. I restate our opposition to a further expansion of extremist settler violence and illegal settlement.