International Development today held a follow-up session on the
situation in Yemen, Syria, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, taking evidence from Dr MP, Minister of State for
International Development and Minister of State for the Middle East
at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In relation to Israel and the occupied territories, committee
chairman said the committee welcomed the
government’s action in short-term funding for UNRWA following the
withdrawal of US funding. But he wanted to know what could be done
in relation to long-term funding. Dr Murrison said UNRWA had an
important role to play, particularly in Gaza, which was in a
desperate state. He deplored the situation in the OPTs.
Dr Murrison said he was not optimistic that the Americans might
re-evaluate funding for aid to the Palestinians.
Most questions on Israel and the OPTs were posed by . He asked about movement
restrictions, particularly in and out of Gaza and the impact in
relation to people and goods on the delivery of UK aid to Gaza.
Dr Murrison said there was a significant impact. He regretted
that money had to be spent on a mechanism for checking the
goods going into Gaza and would prefer Israel to adopt a more
pragmatic and considered line, notwithstanding the security
issues, which he fully understood. “The fact of the matter is
that if you go into the Gaza Strip it is not pretty.” As the
occupying force, Israel had a responsibility to do better than it
was in relation to the welfare of people living there. At the
same time, he condemned Hamas and other organisations for attacks
on Israel and their own people. That had to stop if the OPTs were
to flourish and the people could live normally. He added: “It
does seem perverse we are spending money mitigating against the
structures put in place by Israel.”
In relation to the movement of people, Dr Murrison said there
needed to be a system whereby people could pass more easily
across the border between Gaza and Israel. He himself had been to
the border and watched long queues of people waiting to cross the
border to get medical attention. “I’m sure more can be done to
ease that process, notwithstanding the very legitimate security
concerns Israel has.”
He acknowledged that Gaza posed a big risk to Israel, but the
security structures were the problem in many respects.
Mr Burden asked what responses the minister had had from Israel
and what more could be done to ensure international humanitarian
law was observed. Dr Murrison said Israel usually cited security
issues in its defence and he fully supported Israel’s need to
defend itself. But there were some things that could be done,
particularly in relation to unaccompanied children.
He pointed out that Israel was always at the forefront of
humanitarian responses and Israelis were very charitable in this
regard. But it was important, if only for reputational purposes,
that they dealt with some particularly distressing situations in
relation to the movement of people.
Mr Burden asked about the Kushner ‘peace to prosperity’ plan. Dr
Murrison said the UK was committed to the two-State solution and
would resist the suggestion that a solution to the problems in
the OPTs was an economic one.
Mr Burden asked about the reported 308 attacks on health workers
in Israel and the OPTs. The minister said the only thing that
could be done was to highlight to both sides the need to
safeguard aid workers.
Mr Burden said Israel felt it could “do what it wants with
impunity” in violation of its legal responsibilities and it was
time that action was taken against Israel. The minister said the
government condemned unlawful activity, not least in relation to
settlements. Israel did incur reputational consequences as a
result of its actions. He acknowledged and welcomed that Israel
was investigating shootings on the Gaza border.
He repeated that he understood Israel’s security concerns. The UK
would do the same if faced with the same terrorist threat. But it
was a question of proportionality.
Dr Murrison strongly urged Israel not to annex parts of the
Jordan Valley, which would be contrary to international law. He
pointed out that the recent election had not been a great success
for Mr Netanyahu and may indicate the Israeli peoples’ objection
to the proposal.
asked about concerns
expressed that UK aid was going to Palestinian prisoners in
Israeli jails. The minister said there was a rigorous process to
prevent aid getting into the wrong hands. But there was no clear
answer to the issue of payments by the Palestinian Authority to
the families of “martyrs.”
