Israel and Palestine

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. We are rightly debating these important petitions on arms sales to Israel and the recognition of the state of Palestine. My constituents in Luton South and South Bedfordshire care deeply about these issues, and more than 1,300 of them signed the petitions. However, that is only a fraction of those who have reached out to me since this devastating conflict began. Since October 2023, I have received thousands of emails from people horrified by the events we have seen unfolding on our TV screens and on social media. I share the concerns of my constituents.

We have now passed the one-year mark since this terrible conflict began, and every day we watch the damage and destruction done to the lives of Palestinian people in Gaza. The priority for all of us, of course, is an end to this brutal conflict.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

I thank the 543 constituents in Bedford and Kempston who signed the petition to recognise the state of Palestine immediately. Does my hon. Friend agree that after a year of Israel’s unprecedented bombardment and destruction of Gaza, which has led to massive human suffering and overwhelming evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, it is our obligation—our duty—to recognise the Palestinian state now?

[Rachel Hopkins]

I thank my hon. Friend for making an excellent point. The priority for all of us, of course, is an end to this brutal conflict, and that brings me to the first petition, which relates to UK arms sales to Israel. I respect the swift action taken by the Foreign Secretary when Labour took office to review existing arms licences, and the subsequent decision to suspend several licences to Israel where the Government concluded there was a clear risk they

“might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL.”

However, my constituents continue to be appalled by the death and destruction they are witnessing in Gaza, and they want the Government to go much further.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Rachel Hopkins]

I have taken one intervention—sorry.

This issue is deeply important to my constituents, and they question why the Government have not restricted arms sales to Israel completely—a position my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne) argued for so well. I would therefore be grateful if the Minister set out the Government’s rationale for their position and how that position aligns with international law.

We know that only an immediate ceasefire, with the release of all hostages and a huge increase in humanitarian aid, can begin to address the tragedy unfolding in Gaza. That should rightly be the priority at this time, but in the long term, people in all the Occupied Palestinian Territories need hope of peace and a better future for their children, and I am proud that this Labour Government made it a manifesto commitment to provide that hope by pledging to recognise a Palestinian state. As has been said, recognition is essential to make steps towards a peace process and to offer Palestinian people hope of equality and a future free from occupation and violence.

My constituents are unwavering in their support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination. They want the Government to make that a priority, so will the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking towards that? We must continue to listen to those across our constituencies who are desperate to see an end to the conflict. Importantly, we must stand firm in our work with international allies and humanitarian agencies to ensure that we bring about a renewed peace process that results in a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.