Israel and Gaza

Debate between Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell

Tuesday 27th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

I simply do not think the idea that the Government have looked the other way carries any possible credibility at all. The hon. Gentleman might remember that the source of all this was the 7 October pogrom committed against the Israeli people—the worst killing of Jewish people at any time since the end of the second world war. There needs to be some balance in what is said, and the language that he uses is not helpful to the central aim that we all have: to bring about a ceasefire, and get hostages out and aid in.

Also, the hon. Gentleman should remember that Britain has the toughest weapons regulation and arms export regime of anywhere in the world. He talks about collective punishment, but the point that he misses is that our determination since day one has been to get as much food as we possibly can into Gaza. If he looks back at everything the Government have said on this, we have been working as hard as anyone to get that humanitarian relief into Gaza. I submit that beneath the sound and fury of what he says, there is more substantial agreement between his party and the Government than he recognises.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for coming to the House and setting out a clear and principled statement. As he knows, our position is thoroughly in line with that of our partners—the ones who are involved in very serious and sensitive negotiations right now to end the fighting. Will he say a bit more about the concrete steps towards reform? He mentioned the Palestinian Authority and the resignation of Prime Minister Shtayyeh yesterday. Do the reforms that he has in mind include an end to endemic corruption, to incitement to violence through the school curriculum, and to the terrible policy of paying convicted terrorists a reward for having carried out murder?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend recognises that there will need to be significant changes in the approach that we have made on many of those issues. The British five-point plan encompasses most of what he believes should happen: the release of all Israeli hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the west bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package that would recognise many of the things that he has said; removing Hamas’s capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon that provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution. Within those five points rest the answers to almost every point that he raises.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell

Tuesday 30th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The Foreign Secretary was making it clear that we need a credible route to a Palestinian state and the offer of a new future. It is very important to lift people’s eyes to the possibilities once a political track is established. I point out to the hon. Gentleman that progress has been made. Progress that was made at Oslo took place on the back of appalling events when people reached for a political solution. The same is true of what followed the second intifada. The aim of the British Government is to get a sustainable ceasefire and move to that political track.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend’s comments about a big leap forward are noble—I recognise that—but as long as Hamas, who believe not in a two-state solution but in killing and raping Jews, cling on in Gaza; as Fatah is barely able to control the west bank; and as Israel is still in trauma, still trying to get 130 hostages, including babies, back from Gaza, what does he think that talk about early recognition of Palestinian statehood can achieve?

[Mr Mitchell]

I recognise the voracity of what my right hon. Friend says, but there is no change in the policy. He is right that Hamas must agree to the release of all hostages, that Hamas can no longer be in charge of Gaza, and that we need an agreement to provide governance, service and security there, which will involve the Palestinian Authority. The Foreign Secretary, in his meetings with President Abbas last week, sought to advance that agenda.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mitchell]

We talk continually to the surrounding countries and have given specific support to Chad in dealing with people coming over the border. The situation in Sudan that the hon. Lady describes is absolutely appalling, with nearly 18 million people urgently needing food. If she wishes to discuss her specific cases with me and the Foreign Office, we should do so straight after Question Time.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

This year marks the 120th anniversary of the signing of the entente cordiale with France, 80 years since D-day and 30 years since the opening of the Channel tunnel. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is an incredibly important moment to reinvigorate that important bilateral relationship?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend will have seen the stratospheric improvement in relations with France and its President that have taken place under our right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. He and I were celebrating 120 years of the entente cordiale at the French residence last week. I have no doubt that that relationship, especially now, is in excellent condition.

Israel and Palestine

Debate between Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell

Monday 8th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

Regarding the South African application into the International Court of Justice, our US allies have described it as

“meritless, counterproductive and completely without any basis in fact”.

The Irish Prime Minister also appears to have distanced himself from it. Will my right hon. Friend say a bit more about his view on that application at the ICJ? Does he agree that using terms such as “genocide” is actually an inversion of the truth in this context?

[Mr Mitchell]

I do think that using such inflammatory terms is unhelpful; I agree with my right hon. Friend about that. In respect of the ICJ, South Africa is entirely entitled to refer this matter. Right hon. and hon. Members will reach conclusions for themselves on whether something like that is helpful at this time.

My right hon. Friend, like me, will bear in mind that Israel is a state party to the Geneva convention of 1949, so it is obliged to take action against those accused of grave breaches of international humanitarian law. Because of the nature of Israeli society, that is something that we would expect it to do, were those circumstances to arise.

Israel and Hamas: Humanitarian Pause

Debate between Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell

Monday 27th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

It is unwise and difficult for me to give granular advice on that specific situation from the Dispatch Box, but I will happily speak to the hon. Lady immediately afterwards and ensure that we do the best we can.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

I strongly welcome my right hon. Friend’s remarks about increasing aid to Gaza and the Palestinian people at this time, and I note what he said about the care taken to ensure that British aid reaches its intended target, but given what we now know about the industrial scale of theft and misappropriation of aid in Gaza over the years, who is making sure on the ground right now that British aid is not being taken by Hamas terrorists?

[Mr Mitchell]

For aid in Gaza, we have not dealt with either the Palestinian Authority or the Hamas civil administration for many years, and we do everything we can to ensure that it gets through to the people who need it. He will have seen that, I think yesterday, a British aircraft delivered 4,500 blankets and 4,500 sleeping mats to al-Arish in Egypt. That was the fourth planeload. We will continue to ensure not only that we supply as much aid as we possibly can to meet the need, but that it gets to the right place as speedily as possible.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell

Tuesday 14th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is entirely right about the importance of a political solution. She knows the position of the Government and Members on the Opposition Front Bench on the issue of ceasefires, but I hope she will draw some comfort from the emphasis on extended pauses that we are now seeing. On the politics, I remind her that the great progress that was made at Oslo, which brought things so tantalisingly close, took place on the back of the first intifada.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

Every right thinking person wants to see an end to fighting and a durable peace for Palestinians and Israelis, but Hamas have made absolutely clear that there will be no such peace so long as the state of Israel continues to exist. Will my right hon. Friend say a bit more about what has been happening at the Al-Shifa Hospital and other hospitals in Gaza? Has he seen the reports and the footage circulating of Hamas fighters using those hospitals as bases for operations, putting civilians’ lives at risk?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend, who knows a great deal about these matters, is correct. Hamas have made clear that they do not seek a ceasefire and indeed seek to repeat the awful events of 7 October. As far as the Al-Shifa Hospital is concerned, he, like me, will have seen the horrific pictures on television last night, and I referred specifically to the awful effects on babies that were displayed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell

Tuesday 24th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is quite right to warn about the proper use of aid. I can tell her that this is probably the most scrutinised programme of humanitarian relief and support that Britain has. If ever we see anything that we think is untoward, we immediately stop using that group. None the less, we operate through trusted partners, and the proof is that they are trusted and are partners.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

Last week, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency stated that Hamas had stolen fuel, medical supplies and food intended for Palestinians. It then subsequently deleted that statement, but the way that Hamas have repeatedly compromised UNRWA operations in Gaza has been well-documented in recent years. What assurances can my right hon. Friend give that that aid will be targeted correctly and will reach the people who so desperately need it?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend is right that UNRWA operates in difficult circumstances, but I can tell him that we talk to it all the time about the proper use of these resources and we will do everything we can always to make sure that they go to the intended place.

International Aid: Treasury Update

Debate between Stephen Crabb and Andrew Mitchell

Programme motion
Tuesday 13th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

I am grateful to be called to speak in this debate. I recognise that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has probably the most difficult job in the Government, bar none, and perhaps in the whole country. He is the only person employed to say no and make difficult choices about the spending demands that we all present at the door of the Treasury. Nevertheless, I share the concerns, fears and doubts expressed by colleagues this afternoon about whether the cuts that we are debating will become permanent. I share their fear that 0.5% will become the default setting for our overseas aid spending and that the cuts will become locked in—a permanent withdrawal and a permanent stepping back from the level of commitment that Britain has given overseas among the poorest countries on earth. I share those fears not only for reasons that hon. Members have already outlined, but because I think we are in danger of overlooking just how enormous the effort was that got us to the point where the House of Commons was united on making the commitment to 0.7%, as the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) has just reminded us.

I am perhaps one of the few Members present who was in the House in 2005. I recall the enormous lobbying efforts made not just by churches, but by trade unions, women’s institutes and groups in all our constituencies. There was demand for that commitment. It required Opposition Front Benchers to work with Government Front Benchers; it required Opposition Back Benchers to work with Government Back Benchers. For me, it represented a high water mark of what can be achieved in this House of Commons when people choose to bury some of their political differences and work together for a cause much bigger than our most immediate political needs.

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend is making a wonderful speech. He refers to his longevity in the House. Does he remember how Make Poverty History galvanised national opinion? Crack the Crises is the current successor to that generation, and it is reinforced by younger people. Does he accept that once covid is over and they are able to show what they feel, they will make very clear their opposition to this foolish decision that the Government have made?