Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation

Zarah Sultana Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Ind)]

The nightmare unfolding in Gaza is a deliberate, unparalleled human catastrophe. This is not merely a crisis; this is genocide and extermination. Those are not just my words but the conclusions of the UN commission of inquiry. In northern Gaza, more than 400,000 Palestinians are trapped under relentless Israeli bombardment. Families fleeing are gunned down and so-called safe zones are turned into death traps.

Children are killed on the streets, with five to nine-year-olds the most killed age group in Gaza. Families are burned alive by incendiary weapons. Hospitals, schools and refugee camps are obliterated. Since 1 October, essential aid has been blocked by Israel. Gaza is starving and its health system has collapsed. Diseases such as polio have returned, and the UN describes the situation as “apocalyptic”. The so-called humanitarian zones in southern Gaza offer no refuge.

Over 1 million people are crammed into unliveable conditions. They are not evacuations; they are forced transfers and war crimes under international law. Furthermore, escape routes are bombed. People are trapped with nowhere to go. Over 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, making return impossible. That is ethnic cleansing. Israeli officials brazenly promised it and delivered it. The International Criminal Court and UN experts also confirm it. Targeting civilians, blocking aid and destroying survival infrastructure meet the legal criteria of genocide, despite what the Prime Minister says at Prime Minister’s questions.

So what has the UK done? Far from neutral, the UK is an active participant in genocide. British-made components are part of every single F-35 fighter jet raining down death on Gaza. Every single bomb dropped and every single life lost bears the stain of British support. Such complicity is undeniable. Yesterday, in a hearing at the royal courts of justice, the Government admitted two chilling facts. First, there is a clear risk that UK-made F-35 parts could be used in violations of international humanitarian law. Secondly, the Government’s own assessment, made on 24 July 2024, concluded that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law. Those admissions trigger the UK’s legal obligation under criterion 2c of the strategic export licence criteria, which states that exports cannot be allowed if there is a clear risk of misuse.

Despite that, the Government have allowed exports to continue for five weeks, during which over 1,700 Palestinians were killed. The Defence Secretary has defended this carve-out for F-35s, prioritising “US confidence in the UK” over Palestinian lives. How disturbing. The UK Government have a duty to prevent and punish genocide. By refusing to act, they risk not only complicity, but criminal liability.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)]

It is a real pleasure to take part in this debate with you in the Chair, Sir Roger. I am very grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) for securing this important debate, and for the many contributions by Members from right across the House on this matter of grave importance. I will do my best to respond to the points raised, but this was a very broad-ranging debate, so I hope Members will contact me directly if there are any issues that I do not manage to cover. I will take the decision not to fully cover all the issues about regional developments in order to respond to those specific to this debate. I hope colleagues will accept that.

Gaza is clearly in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. On 12 November, the warning from the famine review committee marked a terrible new milestone: famine is now imminent in areas of northern Gaza. Starvation, malnutrition and related deaths in these areas are rising fast, as is the risk of disease. Hospitals and roads have been destroyed and, as the acting UN emergency relief co-ordinator Joyce Msuya put it, Gaza is now “unfit for human survival”.

The situation is appalling and man made, and Israel must act to address it immediately. I have heard directly just how dire conditions in Gaza have become from the staff of non-governmental organisations who risked their lives to get help in. The accounts they have relayed to me of the suffering they have sought to relieve are harrowing. We heard as much from a number of Members, although most clearly in the opening remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West and from the intervention made by my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams).

We know the disturbing statistics: more than 300 aid workers have been killed in the conflict—the highest number in any single crisis. Yet trucks, humanitarian workers and medics are at the border, ready to get life-saving support into Gaza as Israel continues to hold them back from making the last few miles of their vital journeys. We are increasingly concerned by reports that Palestinians are being prevented from returning to their communities as well. The situation in the west bank is also deteriorating.

As a number of Members have mentioned, Israeli incursions and settler violence have left hundreds of Palestinians dead this year and access to vital services, including healthcare, is being restricted for many others. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed), who is no longer in his place, was correct in saying that healthcare is absolutely a right.

The Opposition asked for an update about activity around entry points. The UK has been working intensively with other countries in the region and beyond to identify new entry points, wherever possible; I saw that for myself in Jordan. However, we also have to recognise the reality that conditions continue to worsen in Gaza at the moment. Israel must take the urgent action needed to change that. First, it must protect the civilian population and infrastructure. It must protect healthcare workers, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) mentioned, and humanitarians, as well as journalists, mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang).

[Zarah Sultana]

Will the Minister give way?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I will push on, if my hon. Friend does not mind.

So many have spoken so powerfully, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger), based on his personal experience of the need for access, particularly for healthcare workers. The Foreign Secretary has raised our grave concerns with Minister Dermer and Minister Katz. In response to the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller), I should say that, as he would expect, we have repeatedly made representations bilaterally and multilaterally to countries in the region and to the US.

As hon. Members will be aware, on 2 September the Government announced the decision to suspend certain licences for UK exports to Israel in respect of items that could be used in the Gaza conflict, having concluded that there exists a clear risk that those might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. On 5 November, the Minister with responsibility for the middle east spoke to the Israeli ambassador about the renewed strikes on Kamal Adwan hospital. Those mean that northern Gaza now has no fully functioning hospitals.

The sick and injured must be allowed to leave Gaza to receive care. Israel must rescind evacuation orders as soon as possible so that displaced families can return to their homes and communities and rebuild their lives. There must be no forced movement of people within or outside of Gaza; my hon. Friends the Members for Coventry South (Zarah Sultana) and for Slough (Mr Dhesi) rightly raised that. The UK Government have been crystal clear that that is unacceptable.

Secondly, Israel must make good on its commitment to “flood Gaza with aid”. As I made clear in the Chamber on 29 October, the UN and its agencies must be able to fulfil their mandate. My hon. Friends the Members for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward), for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) and for Coatbridge and Bellshill (Frank McNally) clearly stated that UNWRA’s mandate must be committed to. The UK Government have absolutely done that; I did it myself at the UN General Assembly. We are clear that there should not be attacks on UNRWA or attempts to undermine it.

I welcome the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), the Opposition spokesperson, to her place; sorry, I should have said that earlier. She referred to the Colonna report. She is absolutely right that the UK Government have provided support to UNRWA so that it can be implemented. I have discussed it directly with the UNRWA leadership, who are taking those measures speedily into account, particularly around neutrality. Indeed, they had wished to act on that issue for a considerable time but did not have the funds to do so. Now they do and they are taking all allegations very seriously indeed.

A number of speakers have mentioned that winter is advancing. The flow of aid has now reached its lowest ebb since the conflict began. It is not matching need and so, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale said, we must ensure that civilians can withstand winter conditions and that there is the required humanitarian provision.

A number of Members have raised the UN Security Council. Reference was made to Lord Collins, who chaired a meeting to underscore the risk of famine in northern Gaza. The Foreign Secretary reiterated the UK’s unequivocal position yesterday. We are working hard with partners, including those in the global south, so that the Security Council can act on this catastrophic situation and push for a ceasefire, for hostage release and for a massive scale-up of aid. I hope that responds to the question laid by my hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) on that specific issue. There is no excuse for Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid. The restrictions must be lifted. There is no excuse for violations of international humanitarian law either. The UK Government’s position is that that must be respected by all sides.

On the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, the UK Government fully respect the independence of the ICJ. We continue to consider its advisory opinion carefully, with the rigour and seriousness that that deserves; I say that in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan), who is no longer in his place.

I have previously set out details of the aid provided from the UK. I know I have run out of time, Sir Roger, so I will speedily mention to my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) that we have provided support to the Egyptian Government and to the World Health Organisation for their care to Palestinians who have been medically evacuated from Gaza. I will write to him on that subject. That has been part of a much larger package of measures that we have instituted to support healthcare, as well as food, nutrition, education, psycho-social support and so forth.

We always keep sanctions under review, but we condemn those remarks that have sought to dehumanise Palestinians.

In conclusion, alongside our international partners we call on Israel to take immediate steps to address this catastrophic situation, protect civilians and let in the promised lifesaving surge of aid that is so desperately needed now.