Middle East Debate
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Polly Billington
Main Page: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)Department Debates - View all Polly Billington's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Middle East
Polly Billington Excerpts(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Falconer
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the question. I will not go further on sanctions, for the reasons I have set out, but I am sure she is aware that I and the Foreign Secretary condemned the death penalty measures that she referred to, and we continue to do so.
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
I am sure my hon. Friend acknowledges the frustration that he can hear from Members from across the whole House. Let me make some suggestions on what he could do to make a difference: take action against companies bidding to build the E1 settlement of 3,400 homes on Palestinian soil; introduce a trade ban on settlement products and services; and suspend trade concessions with Israel. It is clear that criticism alone does not deter the Israeli Government. Those are not just my suggestions; they are the suggestions of 32 leading former ambassadors, who say that the UK can do this. Surely we should be able to act.
Madam Deputy Speaker
I call the Minister to give an example of a really nice, short answer.