Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Paul Waugh and Hamish Falconer(1 month ago)
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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.
Northern Gaza
Debate between Paul Waugh and Hamish Falconer(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Mr Falconer
Britain has an independent foreign policy set by the Foreign Office Ministers and the Prime Minister—I am happy to confirm that to the House. Of course, for this Government the value of a Palestinian life is exactly the same as that of an Israeli life, and we deplore all the civilian suffering that we have seen in this conflict, which, as I say, has gone on for far too long.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
Thank you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker. One of the most appalling aspects of this conflict has been Israel’s reckless disregard not just for civilian life but for that of medical practitioners and patients. Kamal Adwan hospital, the last major facility in northern Gaza, is now out of service, as Members have said. Patients have been moved to the nearby but non-functional and partially destroyed Indonesian hospital, and are unable to receive care because of a lack of necessary equipment and supplies. Will the Minister confirm that Israel’s actions have clearly breached international law, and that a consequence of that will be the continued suspension of weapons sales to Israel when it comes to Gaza?
Mr Falconer
We are following the situation closely. I raised the circumstances of those hospitals with the Deputy Foreign Minister on 23 December. I confirm that all the developments in the conflict are considered as part of the regular assessment process and contribute to the assessments that we make.