(Lothian) (Con):
I did not notice any Conservative member looking away at that
point. The situation in Gaza is not that simple. What about the
north of
Israel, which is under attack constantly as
well?
John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Green): I
am happy to unreservedly condemn violence from any quarter. I do
not hear that condemnation from others. Of course, an issue of
proportionality is at play. There is no proportionality in
relation to the siege of Gaza and the disgraceful behaviour of
the apartheid
Israeli regime.
If we are going to put meat on the
bones, we should not roll out the red carpet for the
representative of that regime in this country, and we should
lend support to Dr , a surgeon who offered
to provide treatment but who was denied entry to Gaza. That is
a shocking situation, and reciprocation by the United Kingdom
Government—not that we are going to see it—would be helpful. We
can lend support to the boycott, divestment and
sanctions.
There are a range of international
matters—in fact, I ran off pages—
(Dumfriesshire)
(Con): Will the member take an intervention?
John Finnie: Yes.
: I draw members’
attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests.
Does the member honestly think that stopping trade and contact
with the outside world is a good way of influencing people in a
modern and global world? Is that not exactly the opposite of
the openness to moving forward that we should be encouraging on
both sides?
John Finnie: My position is clearly different
from the member’s, because I do not have my picture taken,
grinning, beside the person who built the apartheid wall
in
Israel. Dialogue has a part to play, but it
takes two people to be engaged in dialogue. So, yes, I strongly
believe that boycott, divestment and sanctions play an
important part.
:...Twice, in
particular, I was disappointed—first, when John Finnie
accused me of looking away when I was looking directly at him
and, secondly, when he accused me of smiling in a photo when
that is irrelevant to the point that I was making. If Mr
Finnie had been present on that occasion, he would have known
that I belligerently asked questions of that individual over
and over again about Israeli settlements, which cause me
deep concern. If we are going to genuinely improve the
situation in the middle east, making categorical statements
and virtue signalling in the chamber does absolutely nothing
to serve that cause...
...The problem is that, through no fault of the
Parliament’s and despite the hard work of the clerks and
members, the vast majority of responses to consultations
undertaken by the committees of this Parliament come from
advocacy groups—charities and organisations—and not from
individual members of the public. We have a duty to listen to
the public as well, which is why I am happy to stand by my
positions and to make them clear. I am not ashamed to have
visited Israel, that I believe that 12 is the
right age of criminal responsibility or that I believe
that, at its heart, universal credit is a
good policy that is designed to make people’s lives better,
simplify the benefits system and help to get people who want
to work back into work...
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