Angry outbursts by UK MPs over mistreatment of Gaza flotilla activists | Janta Ka Reporter

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]I asked the minister, does he agree that our diplomacy and our limited sanctions approach are not working to arrest the ongoing genocide?

[00:00:09]>> Let me say that I agree with the minister's words on Palestine and Lebanon, but we are long past the point for words being anything like >> Well, Madam Deputy Speak, as I'm sure the minister is realizing, we're all a bit fed up with yet another gaslighting statement on Israel and and Palestine.

[00:00:25]There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We all see the killings, the double triple tap killings on a daily basis. As he said himself, the situation in the West Bank is worse than it's ever been with rampaging gangs kettling Palestinians into the cities. So, who knows what will happen to them. Um, and yet we continue to trade uh with these uh people and and support them. And in Gaza, of course, whether by accident or design, there is no progress uh whatsoever. And the situation uh continues to worsen. As the right honorable lady, the chair of the select committee said, can he not see that when he stands up and says, "You will not hesitate," we're all thinking that every statement is yet another hesitation um in the face of what is an unfolding uh picture of of savagery across the whole um uh region. But I have one specific question for him uh on the uh detainees from the flatilla in particular.

[00:01:17]If that is what Ben G and his henchmen are willing to do to British and European citizens on camera, >> what does he think they're doing to Palestinians off camera?

[00:01:28]>> The challenge for the minister is that we have come in for a statement on the Middle East and in the last few weeks alone. You know, we have seen the treatment of detainees being flaunted on television by an Israeli government minister in regard of international human law. He clearly has.

[00:01:45]>> Madam Deputy Speaker, I'm grateful to the shadow foreign secretary for the constructive tones of her question and let me turn to the important questions of consular access that she raised at the outset. Uh to be clear to the house uh and to all members, honorable right honorable who have constituents involved. We are seeking from the Israeli authorities both consular access to our nationals as you would expect and asurances of their good treatments. We understand that British nationals are expected to be deported back to the UK imminently. We are obviously following this up rapidly. If colleagues across the house have concerns, they are very welcome to raise them with me. We are of course, as I said in the statement, in direct contact with those families who have approached the foreign office directly as well. Uh I can also reassure the shadow foreign secretary that we are uh heavily engaged in the efforts that she describes in relation to Gaza. Both in relation to reconstruction in ensuring that adequate aid gets into Gaza. As I was clear in the statement, the amount of aid getting in remains inadequate. The restrictions remain contrary to the 20point plan. And we are pushing these points with Israeli authorities as she would expect and indeed with all uh of those with an interest in Gaza. That includes Kogat CMCC as she mentioned but also some of the new institutions uh formed under the board of peace including high representative Mandelof Maddenov forgive me uh who I saw in Brussels and I'm in regular contact with that includes the important discussions about the disarmment of Hamas. Similarly, we remain in regular discussions about the importance of demonstrating real progress in Lebanon on the disarmament of Lebanese Hezbollah. And I was discussing that with the Lebanese foreign minister just this week. Uh I'm happy to say a little bit more mad deputy speaker about the sanctions that we have put in place already. I came to this house uh to announce some sanctions in October 2025 which was precisely targeted on senior regime assets in the UK that has included very significant restrictions on property ownership which I think she's aware of up to I think a total value of 140 million and given the serious nature of the topic I'll resist entering into the discussion and Brexit and whether or not the GCC FDA is long overdue it was of Of course, the negotiation started uh by the benches officer. It was a great pleasure to conclude it from these benches.

[00:04:20]>> Chair of the select committee demon.

[00:04:22]>> Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. Um I welcome the statement by the by the minister. I welcome his reiteration of of the government's uh commitment to international law and I welcome um his statement that the government is prepared to take further action and will not hesitate to do so when it comes to Palestine. So, it has been almost two years since the ICJ issued its advisory opinion on Israel and the occupied territories. Um, and calling on the government to take action. Um, and since then, settler violence has exploded. And just this week, the UN released a report stating in no uncertain terms that the far-right Israeli government is weaponizing Israeli violence, settler violence to carry out its stated intention of annexing the West Bank. In February, we were told that the government wanted to respond to the advisory opinion with the seriousness and the rigor it deserves.

[00:05:14]In March, the minister again told us that the government would update the house on its reaction to the ICJ's advisory opinion. So my question is when will we stop hesitating and take action to ensure that international law is respected?

[00:05:31]Minister, >> uh I'm grateful to the chair of the foreign affairs committee for the question which as she said she has put to me uh before.

[00:05:40]>> Uh first off, it is important madam deputy speaker to emphasize that we continue to take steps to ensure that international law is adhered to that those principles underline our response both to events in Israel, Palestine, but also across the wider Middle East. I know the house is impatient for a fuller answer in relation to the advisory opinion even though most of the substantive elements of policy I think I have uh addressed from this dispatch box. There is uh as I know the right honorable lady is a learned lawyer herself. There are some horizontal implications from the advisory opinion which go beyond simply the context in the Middle East and that's one of the reasons why we've been taking uh our time. I'm uh I will endeavor to return to the house with the speed that she demands, which I understand.

[00:06:30]>> Democrat spokesperson Monica Harding.

[00:06:32]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker, and to the minister for advanced sight of his statement. I know that many colleagues like me are frustrated by the government's lack of action to secure progress to a two-stage solution. The UK is rightly committed to the disarmament of Hamas and Hezbollah. These terror groups cannot be allowed to continue destabilizing the region, but it's not clear that concrete action is being taken to deliver this. So, can the minister tell me how the government is coordinating international efforts to disarm and disband both groups? Our influence over prescribed groups is less than over a state we call an ally. That is why Liberal Democrats have been so critical of the minister's failure to hold the Israeli security cabinet to account for its extremist actions. I was disgusted by the footage of the farright minister Ben Gavier degrading detainees from the global Simude flotilla. This after celebrating his birthday with a cake emlazed with a noose following the passage of a death penalty law targeting Palestinians. It was right that the FCDO called in the Israeli charade affairs to register our condemnation, but it is far from sufficient. In the West Bank, settler violence and expansion accelerates. At the start of June, tenders will be delivered for the construction in the E1 area. A move which could kill the chance of a contiguous Palestinian state. In Gaza, Israeli forces push forward their yellow line inch by inch. Their entry of aid continues to be impeded by restrictive measures while the humanitarian catastrophe only worsens and journalists are still blocked from entering. In southern Lebanon, the IDF demolishes Lebanese houses, entire villages, an abhorrent and illegal operation. And across these issues, the government's muted response and dysfunction can be summarized in a single example, the decision to cut the FCDO's unit for monitoring of international law breaches across Israel and Palestine. So, can the minister set out what steps the government will take if the E1 project continues? Will the minister ban all UK trade with illegal settlements, reverse cuts to the FCDO's monitoring unit, and press the Israeli government to allow journalists access to Gaza so they can collect what evidence may remain of war crimes committed there?

[00:08:55]>> Uh, Madam Deputy Speaker, I just want to be clear about British leadership on these questions. I as I said in the statements before all of the events that she describes uh Mr. Benir taking I had already sanctioned the man from this dispatch box. We have done so in advance of most of our key friends and allies. I saw as I was walking to the chamber that some of our European friends are now considering doing what we did in I think August of last year. We have taken action both in company and alone given the significance of the events in the region and we will continue to do so. I want to turn though to the important points that she raised about some of the foreign office structures. I am madam deputy speaker particularly sensitive to these questions. As a proud former member of the diplomatic service myself, it is important to set out that the the world is changing very rapidly and foreign office structures need to change too. So in relation whether it is to some of the reports today about the Iran unit or the reports in recent weeks about the IHL assessment cell responsibility lies with ministers to ensure that we are properly served both on advice about Iran and advice about international humanitarian law. I still get that advice. It is true that there do need to be some changes in the structure of the foreign office since I was in the foreign office in 2015.

[00:10:25]The headcount in the UK, this is counting both departments, has increased by 40% over a decade. That seems to me something we need to address. I spent a great deal of my career overseas. That is where I would like to see the majority of the diplomatic service if we possibly can. And so we do need to make changes. But I want to be clear, there is no unit, not the Iran unit and not the IHL cell which is being targeted.

[00:10:49]It's my responsibility to ensure I'm properly advised on both of those questions and I am. The things referred to this morning uh madame deputy speaker refer to a offer to all staff that they can take part in voluntary redundancy if they would like to. It was not excuse me it was not specific to the Iran unit who do incredibly important work. I was with them this morning and I'd like to assure the house that I, the foreign secretary and the rest of government, continue to be excellently served by the officials of the foreign office.

[00:11:20]>> Andy Macdonald.

[00:11:21]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. Uh, this week we've seen two Israeli ministers already sanctioned by this government act with impunity. Bengavir assaulting and mocking uh humanitarian aid activists and Smottridge saying the Palestinian Authority will get a war and ordering the ethnic cleansing and a partaid act of the village of Kalamar as part of the illegal development of the E1 corridor a village visited by myself and many colleagues uh including the right honorable friends the members for Doncaster North and Ilford North so as co-chair of the Britain in Palestine Ag.

[00:12:01]I asked the minister, does he agree that our diplomacy and our limited sanctions approach are not working to arrest the ongoing genocide? And will he set out what steps he will take with government colleagues to escalate pressure through resourcing the enforcement of the criminal law, including the application of the Proceeds of Crime Act, through updating the overseas business risk guidance, and through ensuring regulatory bodies are advising their members in relation to the continued illegal trade in settlement goods and services.

[00:12:43]Uh I know my honorable friend is deeply committed to these issues. He's raised a number of important points about further steps that the uh British government might take. I'm not in a position to go beyond what I've said in the statement at the moment other than to reassure him that particularly in relation both to the village that he mentions which I know has been visited by a large number of members not just on our benches but right across the house that he is absolutely right to say that further development of the E1 settlement would be a hugely damaging step towards a two-state solution and we will treat any further moves in that direction with the seriousness that David Mundal.

[00:13:26]>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. And obviously the trade agreement with the GCC is welcome, but why does the minister think that it's possible to reach a trade agreement with the GCC, but not to influence its members uh to take a more positive role in resolving the the issues in Yemen, Sudan, and elsewhere because they have a key role to play in these disputes. And I know that he takes a very specific issue in Yemen. So what further can he do to make for example the United Arab Emirates play a more positive role there and elsewhere?

[00:14:03]>> Minister.

[00:14:04]>> Uh Madame Deputy Speaker, I'm grateful to the uh honorable gentleman for giving me an opportunity to touch briefly on Yemen. Uh events there remain dire. We continue to see famine uh right across the country. The behavior of the Houthis is not in the interest of the Yemeni people. We of course have regular and fruitful discussions with all of our partners in the GCC about Yemen, about Sudan, about a whole range of international crises facing us and will continue to do so.

[00:14:38]>> Alen G.

[00:14:40]>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can I thank the minister for his statement?

[00:14:42]and I'm proud to be part of a Labor government that took the historic decision to recognize the state of Palestine, >> but the prospect of a single unified Palestinian state is now under enormous pressure from the expansion of legal settlements. Does the minister agree that anyone who wishes to have a just and lasting peace in the Middle East must oppose settlement expansion?

[00:15:01]>> Uh, madam speaker, it is a great pleasure to answer a question from my honorable friend, not least given he was himself a distinguished member of the diplomatic service and he is absolutely right.

[00:15:12]Wendy Chamberlain. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. My constituent Antonus Verdis is a much valued and loved professor at the University of St. Andrews and he is one of a number of British citizens who have been detained by the Israeli authorities in international waters and taken to Israel for processing. I've been in touch with his family, uh, friends, colleagues, and students in recent days, and they are all deeply concerned about how he will be treated and when he will be released.

[00:15:35]And the video that members have already referred to seems to confirm their worst fears. So although I'm pleased to see reports of the Israeli embassy being summoned to meet the FCDO and I'm grateful for confirmation from the minister about the expected processing and release, can I ask were the actual calls of the Sumid Flatillaa raised in the meeting with the Israeli charged affairs? We need to see those aid routes reopened and we need to see aid coming into Gaza under UN oversight. Minister >> uh madam speaker they were as they have been in every uh engagement with the Israeli government since the signature of the 20point plan. It is vital that aid gets in at the scale and in the manner impositioned under the 20 point plan.

[00:16:16]>> Melanie Ward >> thank you madame deputy speaker and firstly let me commend the government's action on Iran. It's doing the right thing where others in this chamber would have led us down a different and dangerous path. Let me say that I agree with the minister's words on Palestine and Lebanon, but we are long past the point for words being anything like enough. I served in Hebron as a human rights observer 30 human rights observer 13 years ago, and what the minister described as happening there today was happening then. I too have visited Kanalahar, which the Israeli government now wishes to wipe off the map. Experts say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and working to ethnically cleanse the West Bank. They've passed a law to hang Palestinians.

[00:17:01]>> The minister is my good and honorable friend and he says the government is not hesitating to act on this issue. But that is not true. Unfortunately, for far too long, we have had a hesitancy to take further meaningful action. Where are the comprehensive sanctions on the people committing these human rights violations and holding up aid from entering Gaza? Why do we not have a ban on settlement trade yet? And why have we not yet banned British charities who are funneling money to settlements?

[00:17:33]>> Uh I want to pay tribute to my honorable friend who's long been committed to these issues both in this house uh and before and is I think probably the only member of this house who has been to Gaza uh since the conflict began. uh we have taken wave after wave of sanctions action and I want to reassure her that we treat these issues with the seriousness that they deserve and I'm sure I will be returning to the house in due course to update her on that.

[00:18:01]>> Kit Molt House.

[00:18:02]>> Well, Madame Deputy Speak, as I'm sure the minister is realizing, we're all a bit fed up with yet another gaslighting statement on Israel and and Palestine.

[00:18:09]There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We all see the killings, the double triple tap killings on a daily basis. as he said himself, the situation in the West Bank is worse than it's ever been with rampaging gangs kettling Palestinians into the cities, so who knows what will happen to them. Um, and yet we continue to trade uh with these uh people and and support them. And in Gaza, of course, whether by accident or design, there is no progress uh whatsoever and the situation uh continues to worsen. As the right honorable lady, the chair of the select committee said, can he not see that when he stands up and says, "You will not hesitate." We're all thinking that every statement is yet another hesitation um in the face of what is an unfolding uh picture of of savagery across the whole um uh region. But I have one specific question for him uh on the u uh detainees from the flatillaa in particular.

[00:19:01]If that is what Ben gave and his henchmen are willing to do to British and European citizens on camera, >> what does he think they're doing to Palestinians off camera?

[00:19:14]Um, madam speaker, I made that very point in my statement. Of course, we can expect that what Mr. Bengavir does on camera to Europeans and others is just a fraction of what is being done behind closed doors. That was why I made that uh exact comparison in my statement and it is why we sanctioned him well before uh many of our friends and partners have done so. Katherine West.

[00:19:43]>> Thank you very much, Madame Deputy Speaker. My honorable friend will be aware because I've written to him that I have a constituency interest in this uh urgent statement and I wanted to ask him first of all to welcome what's already been done in bringing the Israelis in this morning to discuss with them the concerns both of the government and of this house. But will he also give me reassurance that every single consular diplomatic and access to legal advice so that these cruel and dehum dehumi dehumanizing impacts on our constituents who are there with other Europeans and others will be highlighted and that we can basically um bring justice not just for them but for Palestinians as well.

[00:20:30]I thank uh my honorable friends uh my former colleague in the foreign office for the question. We are pressing for full consular rights. We made that point uh this morning. We understand from the Israelis that uh all participants on the flatilla will be deported back to their uh place of origin. We are urgently following up with the Israeli government on the details and the manner of that.

[00:20:53]>> Jeremy Carvin.

[00:20:56]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker.

[00:20:58]Yesterday I raised on a point of order the attack on Kalamad um and the brutality of the settler forces that are destroying lives there. That is now continuing. It's continuing all across the West Bank as settler violence is destroying Palestinian villages. The genocide in Gaza is continuing. The occupation of the West Bank in its totality is continuing. He talks about sanctions. Where are the sanctions against Israel that mean anything? Why are we still supplying arms and weapons?

[00:21:30]Why are we still supplying security information to Israel? Why are we still occasioning their military attacks against the Palestinian people? If sanctions are to mean anything, they've got to do it something to prevent Israel's brutality against the entirety of the Palestinian people, be they in Gaza or the West Bank or indeed in refugee camps in Lebanon.

[00:21:55]Uh, Madam Deputy Speaker, it's important to be clear. We're providing no bombs, no bullets to the Israeli government that could be used against Palestinians.

[00:22:03]That is the decision that this government took shortly after entry into government and we continue to stand by it. We have put in place a range of sanctions. We've talked about Mr. Benir already this afternoon, but there's of course Mr. Smotrich too. I think any reasonable observer would think sanctions on both the Minister of Interior and the Minister for Finance is quite far-ranging sanctions indeed.

[00:22:26]>> Stella Cre.

[00:22:27]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. The challenge for the minister is that we have come in for a statement on the Middle East and in the last few weeks alone, you know, we have seen the treatment of detainees being flaunted on television by an Israeli government minister in regard of international human law. He clearly has none. That clearly demands a stronger response.

[00:22:51]We've seen an ongoing restriction on aid to Gaza, which the minister himself describes results in children being bitten by rats.

[00:22:59]>> We've seen an ongoing escalation in violence on the West Bank. How will we make the Israeli current Israeli government understand as we wish the current Iranian regime to understand that we mean business if the minister keeps coming to the house to tell us that he will not hesitate but hesitates to set out what he's actually going to do in response to these incidents?

[00:23:24]U mad speaker, I've sought to set out some of the action we're taking uh both in relation to Israel and Palestine, both uh publicly announced steps and the diplomatic work behind the scenes as well, and do the same in relation to Iran. We are under no doubt about the seriousness of the situation. We'll continue to use our full diplomatic way to try to improve it.

[00:23:49]>> Mark Brard.

[00:23:50]>> Thank you, Madam Speaker. Can I just say to the minister, I have a constituent that has been uh illegally arrested uh in international waters and agree with him there should be early and immediate indeed uh consular access for him. I'm not going to name him today. Would the minister join me in paying tribute to the role of Egypt in peacemaking in the region and its uh particular role in seeking to bring peace and rebuild Gaza.

[00:24:15]He mentioned the Israeli shar uh defair.

[00:24:18]Can I just counsel him gently that as the Agramman progresses that whatever the choice of Israel that it is a choice that fits well within the United Kingdom uh as well. Um and can I just say Madame Debsey uh finally I've said it before and I'd like to say it again the life of a Palestinian child is as precious as the life of an Israeli child. And that that is my uh undergirling and my starting point in any discussions uh about the region and Israel's uh national security uh minister Ben Gavir's behavior of taunting of Gaza peace activists is despicable. And that is the word of the current US ambassador to Israel, Governor Mike Huckabe. It's very rare that I actually agree with what Governor Huckabe says, but on this occasion, he's absolutely right. And finally, criticism of the current Israeli government over its actions in Gaza and in West in the West Bank is not anti-Israel.

[00:25:22]>> It is not anti-Semitic. It is not being bigoted.

[00:25:25]>> It is not being pro- Hamas. It is not being pro- Hezbollah. It is about being a robust and candid friend to an important friend and ally.

[00:25:38]>> Uh it is a powerful contribution from the honorable gentleman opposite and I'm sure he could hear the the welcome that he received from the benches behind me.

[00:25:49]It is a sign I think that those with Israel's long-term interests closest to their hearts make exactly some of the points that he just did. And I was uh glad to see that he also saw the Egyptian foreign minister this week and was able to present the views that he just described to him directly which Aisha >> can I welcome the Gulf country's trade agreement of this week. Can we give particular thanks to the ministers and the diplomats who've worked hard and delivered it? Given Iran Iran Iranian belligerance towards its neighbors though, can he further outline what we are what measures we are taking to support Gulf States under threat from Iran and help deescalate the situation there? Minister, uh >> I thank my honorable friend for his kind words and I'm glad for the opportunity to thank uh both uh the excellent officials of the foreign office but also the department for business and trade.

[00:26:47]I'm glad to see the trade minister lurk back into the chamber. He has played a central role uh in in ensuring that the FTA was concluded and we're very grateful for it. Uh in response to the honorable my honorable friend's question about the Gulf, we uh we work incredibly closely uh with our Gulf partners. We were very glad to host uh the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, the United Arab Emirates foreign minister this week. We have been working closely with them uh to ensure that they can fully defend themselves against Iran's reckless attacks against them and we will continue to do so.

[00:27:25]>> Ben Maguire. Thank you madame deputy speaker and I'm grateful to the minister for his statement having applied for an urgent question alongside the westminster leader of ply cumry and other honorable members. One of my north coral constituents Katy Davidson was on board the global summed flatillaa and has been uh illegally rest arrested and held and likely subjected madam deputy speaker to the disgusting and degrading treatment that we've all seen. The Israeli government flout international law after international law now against British citizens. Doesn't the minister agree that it's time to ban all imports from the illegal settlements in the West Bank and finally close the shameful arms export loopholes and enforce a total arms embargo? What more do war criminals like Netanyahu, Bengavir, and others need to do before this government acts?

[00:28:19]more inaction will leave this government firmly on the wrong side of history.

[00:28:26]>> Uh madam speaker, I think uh the loophole he's referring to is the global supply chain of the F-35. I would welcome a little bit more clarity from the Liberal Democrats on how they think this loophole can be closed and the F-35 supply chain maintained. We've discussed these issues in this chamber a number of times. They've been pressed uh in the courts and we continue to stand by our position. I'm sure the Liberal Democrats have thought it through.

[00:28:52]>> Richard Bergen.

[00:28:53]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. Israel has been stepping up illegal land grabs in the occupied West Bank. So this week's threat by Minister Smottich to forcibly evict the Palestinian community of Khn al Amar is part of a wider pattern of illegal settlement expansion.

[00:29:13]There's a growing chorus calling for a ban on all settlement goods and a ban on trade with Israel's illegal settlements.

[00:29:22]That's what international law demands.

[00:29:25]What is the government waiting for? What is the minister waiting for?

[00:29:30]>> Minister, >> me speaker, I think I addressed uh these questions in an uh earlier intervention, but I want to reassure my honorable friend that we continue to treat the situation with the seriousness that it deserves. I'm not going to trail further announcements from the dispatch box today, but obviously we keep all of these matters under close review.

[00:29:49]>> Dr. Andrew Miris, the >> behavior of Smurch and Ben Gavir brings shame on all of us who consider ourselves to be friends of Israel. Uh given that the JCPOA wasn't working, that Iran continued to advance its plans for a nuclear weapon, how would the minister have defanged the regime? And whilst he is right to claim some level of credit for the the FTA uh with the Gulf States, will he give credit to to his predecessors who did a lot of the heavy lifting and at least concede that the whole thing would not have been possible if we were still in the European Union?

[00:30:36]Madam Mr. Speaker, it's a very difficult position to be in to have one's predecessor ask in parliament for credit for his predecessors. And I'm very uh in the spirit of uh bipartisanship that we've shown this afternoon. I'm of course I acknowledge the the talks on the GCC FDA were indeed started under the previous government, >> but not finished.

[00:30:56]>> But not finished. And I'm sure the trade minister uh sat to my left uh would be uh keen to emphasize how much heavy lifting uh recent months uh and years have required to get it over the line.

[00:31:10]Uh I won't enter into the hypothetical discussion about how the 2015 to to the current day uh approach to trying to ensure Iran did not have the degree of highlyenriched uranium that it now does have could be avoided. But that is the situation we now face. We must have a serious diplomatic process that involves a reduction of that hu which is such a danger not just to the region but to the world including the UK and we take that with the seriousness you'd expect.

[00:31:43]>> Iran.

[00:31:44]>> Thank you madam deputy speaker. Even as we debate here today, Israel continues to commit genocide in Gaza and war crimes across Palestine. It is engaging in illegal land grabs. It is expanding illegal settlements at unprecedented levels and is illegally abducting and torturing activists simply for trying to a to deliver aid to starving children.

[00:32:12]So our duty under international law is not unclear. What is unclear is this government's courage to act. And all we've heard again today from the minister which is becoming somewhat of a repetition here today is some light condemnation and some promise vague promise to act at some point in the future. I say this to the minister and I say this very sincerely even as we debate today hundreds of Palestinian children are dying and starving. He has a moral and legal duty TO ACT TODAY. WHY WILL HE not >> uh mandate speaker I yesterday myself heard from Palestinian children about the struggles that they face. I have taken steps at every step, madame deputy speaker, to try and ensure that they get the help, the assistance and are able to exercise their rights both in relation to their own education, but also the dreadful situation that I described in my statement. I reject his characterization of my action and the action of the government. We take this with the seriousness that it requires.

[00:33:29]The the condemnation that I've heard right across the house is for a man I have already sanctioned. For the first time in British history, a British minister has sanctioned Israeli ministers and not just junior ministers, very senior ministers. We did it deliberately. We did it in in advance of our partners. Our actions are being considered by others to repeat. I accept his strength of feeling about the suffering. I do not accept his condemnation that we have done nothing.

[00:34:02]>> Dr. Ali Chows.

[00:34:04]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. The minister recognizes that the Netanyahu government is imposing a strangle hold on any possibility of Palestinian self-determination, the expansion of settlements, the ongoing horror in Gaza.

[00:34:17]All of this is completely unacceptable.

[00:34:19]He says, "I have been clear we are prepared to take further action and will not hesitate to do so." But he comes to this chamber again and again and again to hesitate.

[00:34:31]>> It's nearly two years since the ICJ judgment. We should have banned settlement trade years ago.

[00:34:40]>> It's nearly one year since the sanctions that he's repeatedly referred to today.

[00:34:45]And in that year, what have we seen?

[00:34:47]Ongoing horror in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon.

[00:34:52]>> The time for hesitation is over. When will this government stop repeatedly hesitating and take action?

[00:35:03]>> Madam Deputy Speaker, I would take the point with more force if we were not today seeing our European partners looking to imitate things that we did some considerable time ago. I recognize I recognize the depth of feeling which I share about the suffering in Palestine and across the region. But it is simply not correct to suggest that this government has done nothing. We have set out both in relation to sanctions, in relation to arms exports and a range of other actions the action we have taken.

[00:35:33]>> Paul Barker. Thank you Madame Deputy Speaker. Yes, again we have seen uh a flotillaa taking essential aid to Gaza intercepted by Israel and subsequently uh those people who were trying to ensure aid was delivered have been subjected to violence, humiliation and abuse by uh Ben. But we shouldn't be surprised because last month, Madam Deputy Speaker, the Israeli military approved the return of reservists involved in the rape of a Palestinian man in July 2024, which has become notori the the detention center where he was has become notorious for torture. And this follows the dismissal of all charges against the Israeli reservists in March this year when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the soldiers as heroic warriors.

[00:36:23]So, what conversations has the minister had with Israeli officials about this pattern of glorifying rapists and allowing them to serve in the Israeli military? And in his statement, Madame Deputy Speaker, the minister did say that he's been clear that he is prepared to take further action. What is that action and when will it come?

[00:36:43]>> Minister, >> uh Madame Deputy Speaker, I thank my honorable friend for the question. Uh I can hear the frustration from colleagues which I often hear uh when I indicate that further action may be possible but won't trail it before uh the government does it. That's for long.

[00:37:05]>> Well, I've I've laid out the steps that we've taken so far. Let me turn to the question that uh my honorable friend asks uh which I I know she was focused particularly on sexual violence which is of course about the most appalling of crimes. Uh but if she'll permit me, I just want to talk a little bit about the wider situation of justice and accountability.

[00:37:32]British aid workers have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. There is a reasonable expectation from this house and indeed across the world that the Israeli government and the Israeli justice system will ensure accountability for anyone for everyone but particularly when foreign nationals are involved. We continue to press for further progress in relation to accountability. If the Israeli government and the Israeli justice system cannot demonstrate that progress, then international partners, including the UK, will draw adverse judgments about what that means about Israeli systems.

[00:38:09]>> Chris Law.

[00:38:10]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. And you I I almost sympathize with the minister because really everybody in this house is exasperated at a lack of action. I happen to represent Dundee which has been twinned within Nablas the West Bank for the last 45 years and the members of that association write to you regularly about positive things that could be done and I'll give you maybe one example given the fact that we have uh occupied West Bank an entire illegal expansion continuing with 34 settlements in April alone. So can I suggest the minister the international court of justice has directed states not to trade with Israel in relation to the occupied Palestinian territory and other European countries such as Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland are taking steps to unilaterally ban trade with illegal settlements. Now I said you don't want to h put things out early, but I think it's already underway and why are we not doing it? There's a precedent in UK law and policy of not trading with illegally occupied lands such as Crimea and other illegally occupied parts of Ukraine. So will the minister please, please stop making excuses and outlay when this government will finally uphold its international legal obligations and ban this trade.

[00:39:20]Uh Madam Speaker, I'm reluctant to pass comment on the uh deliberations of uh other legislators, but as I'm sure the honorable member will know. Uh he refers to a number of European Union countries there. They have not taken steps in relation to trade. That's a European Union competence and they are discussing whether or not they might review their association agreement with Israel, but have not yet done so. I am not here in a competition but I think it any reasonable observer would say that the UK has gone further than the EU in relation to these matters.

[00:39:53]>> Sachial army.

[00:39:54]>> Thank you madame deputy speaker and I thank the minister for engaging with me and a group of my constituents and young people and cross party faith leaders to address this issue you and this is an issue that continues to come up for my constituents. Just recently this week, one of my constituents wrote to me about the flotilla outlining that this peaceful volunteers were seized in international waters and act explicitly prohibited under international law. So I welcome the minister condemning the actions of the Israeli government with regard to the really horrific and disgraceful treatment that we have all seen and and the fact that you know the staff are working really hard and to get those British nationals home. And I think the minister is correct in saying that we would not need this flotilla if they were allowing vital humanitarian aid to get through to Palestinians in so much need. Um I think the minister can see the range of frustrations and views from members right across the house from the right honorable member from Northamptonshire, the right honorable member from the reckoning, my honorable friend and member from for Middles and and Wolf say we want to help the minister but again we are quite concerned that we come back time and time again and we are not seeing in that meaningful action to really say to the people perpetrating some of these acts enough is enough. Every life value, every life is is valuable. every life matters but we cannot sit back and watch the impunity that is happening. So what more can a minister do with his good office to say enough is enough?

[00:41:26]>> Uh I thank my honorable friend for both question and for welcoming me to her constituency recently to discuss this.

[00:41:34]We will continue to take every step that we can in recognition of the seriousness of the situation. Oh, please.

[00:41:41]The minister talked earlier on about accountability. My constituent, Chris Hill, was kidnapped and held in captivity by Israeli forces this week, and I raised concerns for his well-being in a point of order on Monday. It has taken three days for the government to come to the house with an update, during which time people legitimately engaged with supplying humanitarian aid and bearing witness to the Israeli government's aid blockade in Gaza have been subjected to public humiliation and physical harm. As he said earlier on, we know what happens when the doors aren't closed. We can only summize what happens when the doors are closed. Why is this government's reaction characterized by hesitancy?

[00:42:27]>> Uh I don't accept the characterization, madam deputy speaker, but I'd like to reassure her that uh it does not take me being stood in front of this dispatch box to be taking action on behalf of British nationals in distress overseas and we have been engaged in the case of all British nationals on the fleetella since we were first elected.

[00:42:46]>> Dear Ali, >> thank you madam deputy speaker. I welcome uh the statement by the minister and his condemnation uh of Bengavir and Schmatric uh particular their horrific and appalling treatment of both Europeans and Palestinians.

[00:43:04]But will the minister agree with me that condemnation alone uh is not sufficient and Netanyahu Bengavia Schmatri should be handed over to ICC uh for their uh ongoing uh genocide in Gaza and the um illegal uh behavior that they have shown in many aspects uh to the war uh that's been happening uh in Middle East.

[00:43:35]Secondly, uh I welcome his uh announcing that Iran should not have a nuclear power. But what gives us that right to be the judge and jury for that? If we're not demanding the same from Israel, if there is going to be no one in the Middle East to hold nuclear powers, then Israel needs to disarm as well. Does he agree with me?

[00:44:00]Uh madame deputy speaker, the UK is uh a committed member both of the nuclear proliferation treaty and the Rome Statute and we encourage all states to fully abide by their commitments under both and that includes in relation to the international criminal court.

[00:44:20]>> Patricia Ferguson speaker and I thank the minister for his statement today. Madame Deputy Speaker, according to the United Nations, the number of violent incidents in uh the uh West Bank caused by illegal settlers increased to a record level last August with there being no coincidence that that's the time of maximum harvests in the area. So, will the government continue to enact sanctions against these violence settler movements? But will we also now start to ban the import of settlement goods?

[00:44:55]And will the ministers sanction those politicians inciting that violence and responsible for the insidious, in fact not the insidious, the disgraceful legislation enacted against Palestinians, such as the introduction of the death penalty, but also the frankly petty and shortsighted decision to remove recognition of academic degrees gained in Palestine so that people with those degrees can't work as teachers. in Israel or anywhere else where Israel holds sway. Can I just remind members that questions need to be much shorter if we're going to get business done today? Minister >> uh Madam Deputy Speaker, I'm grateful to my uh honorable friend for the question.

[00:45:41]And I I won't go further on sanctions for the reasons I've uh set out already, but I do uh I'm sure my honorable friend is aware that I and the foreign secretary condemned the death penalty measures that she refers to and we continue to do so.

[00:45:56]>> Poly Billington.

[00:45:57]>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I'm sure the uh my right friend acknowledges the frustration that he can hear across the whole house. Can I make some suggestions to some of the things that he could do um in order to be able to make a difference and that um action against companies bidding to build E1 that settlement of three 3,400 homes on Palestinian soil, introduce a trade ban and settlement uh products and services and suspend trade concessions with Israel. It's clear that criticism alone does not deter the Israeli government.

[00:46:27]These aren't just my suggestions. there the suggestions of 32 leading former ambassadors that says the UK can do this in that circumstance surely we should be able to act >> the example of a really nice short answer minister >> I thank my honorable friend uh I'm aware of the letter >> orind deputy speaker I welcome the minister coming to the house this afternoon for an update I do believe that he is genuinely concerned with what is happening in Gaza, but the breaches of international law continue by the Israeli government and the the suffering in Gaza is worsening. So, I just have one uh question to ask. Can the member can the minister please give us some assurance that we are not still selling arms to Israel either directly or indirectly that are then used against the Palestinians. Can I can I remind members and cut straight to the question. Minister, >> I can reassure my honorable friend that we are selling no bombs, no bullets that could be used against the Palestinians.

[00:47:35]>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will truncate my question. Israel is demonstrating a disinterest in peace and a disregard for uh international norms.

[00:47:44]Does my honorable friend agree that we need to place more pressure on our regional partners with whom you've recently created the trade arrangement?

[00:47:54]um so that we can achieve the outcomes that our unilateral measures are failing to deliver.

[00:48:00]>> Absolutely agree with my gallant friend that we do need to work with our partners across the region to try and have best effect.

[00:48:07]>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. In Lebanon, the government's contribution to the humanitarian response is welcome, but the response doesn't work when aid workers are being killed, including the 116 um healthcare and rescue um personnel who have already died. The House is united in condemning these violations of international law. But does the minister accept again that the killing won't stop until there is accountability?

[00:48:30]>> There must be accountability. I met members of the Lebanese Red Cross uh during my recent visit and was appalled to see further killings amongst their brave number subsequently.

[00:48:40]>> Thank you, Madam Speaker. Let me declare an interest as the chair of the ADVG for schools. Um, can I thank the minister for visiting uh the virt uh virtual visit to a school in Hebrron yesterday?

[00:48:51]Um, what did he hear directly from peoples at that school about their hopes for peace and what more can we do to ensure that everyone in Palestine and across the world has the right to an education?

[00:49:04]I heard madam deputy speaker from uh girls wanting to be doctors and teachers that they couldn't get to school in the morning because of restrictions that their dads couldn't walk them to school couldn't pick them up at night that their uh education was regularly very significantly disrupted and it's on all these points that we need to see progress. John Gre.

[00:49:27]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. The Finance Minister of Israel, SMTOR Rich, has alleged that there's an arrest warrant issued for him. He has said that this alleged arrest warrant is a declaration of war. And he has said that his first move will be to demolish the village of Khan Alman. Does my honorable friend condemn any attempt to put pressure on the International Criminal Court? And will he condemn any attempt to punish the Palestinian people in this way? And does he agree with me that people should face justice for war crimes?

[00:49:57]Uh I do on all three questions.

[00:50:02]>> Deputy Speaker, given all that we've heard today and whilst I welcome the statement from uh my right honorable friends, I adds to my concern and that of my constituents about the reported closure of the conflict and security monitoring project. I've seen firsthand how important this work is and and the projects they do to monitor human right violations in the region. Can my honorable friend give the house assurances that the foreign the foreign office is still able to track the level of potential breaches of international law in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon compared to this time last year.

[00:50:35]>> I can offer my friend that assurance.

[00:50:39]>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. Um, and I thank the minister for his statement. I declare an interest as a member of the board of deputies of British Jews, but I speak for myself.

[00:50:49]The actions of Minister Gavir seen on the news last night are an utter disgrace. And as a Jewish MP, I was ashamed for sometimes is not easy to be a Jewish MP in this house. Does the minister agree that the actions of certain Israeli ministers are not the responsibility of the Anglo-Jewish population?

[00:51:09]>> Absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:51:10]>> And that there can be no excuse for the terrible epidemic of anti-semitism we've seen on British streets.

[00:51:16]>> Here, here.

[00:51:19]Uh, I couldn't agree more with my honorable friends. The actions of the Israeli government are nothing to do with British jury. I was so pleased and honored to be with members of the community on Monday and made that very point to them. There is no excuse of any kind for anti-semitism.

[00:51:42]Israel has absolutely nothing to do with