UK Armed Forces in Middle East Debate

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Department: Ministry of Defence

UK Armed Forces in Middle East

Robert Halfon Excerpts
Monday 29th April 2024

(7 months, 3 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

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Leo Docherty Portrait Leo Docherty
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We continue to make the point that Hamas must lay down their arms and release the hostages. That is the precondition for peace.

Robert Halfon Portrait Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
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The key problem, as my hon. Friend will know, is that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are appropriating aid meant for the Palestinians. What steps are our armed forces taking to ensure that aid gets to those who really need it, not the terrorist networks? What steps are they taking against Hamas’s terrorist tunnels under the Egyptian border? British armed forces could play a significant role in working with Israel to dismantle the tunnel networks.

Leo Docherty Portrait Leo Docherty
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My right hon. Friend asks a very good question, and a huge amount of effort is going into this. We are energetically leaning into the prospect of a greater degree of aid flowing through the Cypriot and Jordanian humanitarian corridors, and the JLOTS temporary pier capability could be an absolute game changer.