Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind) [V]:...The news over the last
couple of days has been heavily dominated by what is happening in
Jerusalem and what is happening now in Gaza. Some years ago, I went
to Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem, a place of Palestinian homes. It has
been a place of Palestinian homes for almost all of my lifetime.
Settlers are trying to drive the people out of those homes, and
this is emblematic of the way in which settlers all across the west
bank have taken over...Request free
trial
(Islington North) (Ind) [V]:...The news over the last
couple of days has been heavily dominated by what is happening in
Jerusalem and what is happening now in Gaza. Some years ago, I went
to Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem, a place of Palestinian homes. It has
been a place of Palestinian homes for almost all of my lifetime.
Settlers are trying to drive the people out of those homes, and
this is emblematic of the way in which settlers all across the west
bank have taken over Palestinian land, divided up farms, created
settler roads and created the quite correct anger of the
Palestinian people against the occupation. Surely the way forward
is to end the occupation, end the siege of Gaza and ensure that
there is peace in the future. I say that because I believe very
strongly in it, and if anyone doubts the horrors of what it is like
to live under occupation, I urge them to look at a film called “The
Present”, which demonstrates just how difficult life can be for
people trying to undertake an ordinary thing like going out to buy
a present. I have taken part in many conferences, calls and
discussions with people from Israel from Palestine and from different
organisations all over the world. Peace will not be achieved by
bombardment or by land-grabbing; peace will be achieved only by the
recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people and an end to
the occupation...
(Edinburgh South West) (SNP):...Finally, looking
at the international aspects of the Queen’s Speech, the Government
said that they want to uphold human rights and democracy across the
world. If they are really committed to doing that, why do they
frequently fail to do it when it comes to the Palestinian people?
The inaction from the international community, including from the
United Kingdom Government, to properly defend and support
Palestinians in the face of Israeli Government and Israeli human
rights abuses is not indicative of a country that supposedly stands
for human rights and democracy abroad. The excessive force used by
Israeli forces on worshippers at al-Aqsa and against families in
Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem only prompts the mildest
of criticism and zero consequences for those responsible. Those
families are facing forced transfer and dispossession of their
homes, which would constitute a war crime. In the past 24 hours, we
have seen a grim escalation, with 24 people, including nine
children, killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. Although we should
rightly condemn the rocket attacks coming from Gaza to Jerusalem,
we should also condemn and take action against the events that led
up to these escalations and the excessive response to
them.
If the UK Government really want to be a human rights
defender, they should fully support the International Criminal
Court’s investigation into an alleged grave crime committed in the
occupied Palestinian territory, and they should not undermine it.
Please can we have real meaning to the words of “upholding human
rights and democracy abroad”?
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