The following Answer to an Urgent Question was given in the House
of Commons on Monday 27 November.
“A tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East. Israel has suffered
the worst terror attack in its history and Palestinian civilians
are experiencing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis.
As the Foreign Secretary made clear, last week’s agreement was a
crucial step towards providing relief to the families of the
hostages and addressing the humanitarian emergency in Gaza. This
pause has provided an important opportunity to ensure that much
greater volumes of food, fuel and other life-saving aid can enter
Gaza.
On 24 November the British Government announced a further £30
million of humanitarian assistance, tripling our existing aid
budget for the Occupied Palestinian Territories this financial
year. During the pause, the fourth UK aircraft, carrying 23
tonnes of humanitarian aid for Gaza, arrived in Egypt, bringing
the total amount of UK humanitarian aid provided via British
aircraft to 74 tonnes. That aid is now being dispersed to the
United Nations to support critical food, water, health, shelter
and protection needs in Gaza and to pre-position emergency
supplies in the region.
Today is the fourth and final day of the agreement. The British
Government are supportive of the current pause in hostilities
continuing, but that is for the Israelis and others in the region
to agree. We are clear that this pause should not be a one-off.
The increased flow of fuel and relief supplies over the Rafah
crossing accompanying the pause was welcome and must be
sustained. This pause should act as a confidence-building
mechanism for future pauses, including those solely on
humanitarian grounds.
We welcome the intensive international co-operation, including
efforts from Qatar and the USA, that led to this agreement and we
thank partners for their continued work. We remain committed to
making progress towards a two-state solution. Britain’s
long-standing position on the Middle East peace process is clear.
We support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure
Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.
The UK will continue to work with all partners in the region to
reach a long-term political solution that enables both Israelis
and Palestinians to live in peace.”
3.51pm
(Lab)
My Lords, events are changing every minute, and it is very
difficult to keep up to date, but I know that all our hopes and
prayers are for a further extension of the cessation of
hostilities, which will provide relief in Israel, Gaza and
beyond. I certainly acknowledge the Government’s efforts in
giving humanitarian support, which I very much welcome.
There are two specific issues that I feel did not properly address
when he had the opportunity earlier this week. One is in relation
to the release by Hamas of nationals from around the world. Can
the Minister give an update on the British hostages that the
Government had previously reported were being held in Gaza?
My right honourable friend has written to the Foreign
Secretary, asking him to respond to Steve Brisley’s request for a
response to his family’s request to meet the Foreign Secretary. I
know this was raised yesterday. Can he give an assurance on it?
The matter should be properly addressed without delay. It is
awful that they have heard nothing from this Government about
their family members who are being held as hostages.
My other point was raised by , the chair of the Foreign
Affairs Committee, in relation to Netanyahu’s announcement of
funds of $80 million for the expansion of settlements. Can the
Minister be more explicit about the British Government’s response
to that? Have we made direct representations to the Prime
Minister of Israel to ensure that it complies with international
law in this regard? It will hinder progress towards a two-state
solution.
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office () (Con)
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his questions. He is right
that it is a very fast-moving situation, and the hostage releases
start at about 2 pm local time, which is very shortly. I can give
him figures as of yesterday only: we think that a total of 81
hostages have been released under the deal.
It is wrong to call this a humanitarian pause: it is a pause to
facilitate a hostage release deal. We want a humanitarian
pause—we actually want a ceasefire. But the good news is that Ada
Sagi, an Israeli national with a British family, was one of those
released, and another 10 have been agreed for today. We hope that
that is taking place as we speak.
The number of foreign nationals crossing the border while hostage
exchanges are going on is none, because the hostage release has
primacy. Some 245 UK-supported foreign nationals have crossed at
Rafah; of those who have left, 175 are British nationals, 27 are
country-based UK staff, 43 are Palestinian dependants, and 67
people are waiting to cross. There are some issues relating to
people who have clearance to leave—
That was not my question; it was about British nationals who are
hostages.
(Con)
I take the point that the noble Lord asked about the hostages. We
are working very closely with the Qataris, and my noble friend
has been in regular
discussions with the negotiator and has made the point that we
want a release. I am very happy, as is he and is the Foreign
Secretary, to meet families with British connections from both
sides of the conflict. Indeed, I am meeting families of the
hostages after this session so I will be very happy to continue
that dialogue.
(LD)
My Lords, the release of the hostages is a blessed relief for the
families involved, but the humanitarian catastrophe continues. I
heard the Minister say that His Majesty’s Government now favour a
ceasefire rather than just a pause. These Benches would support
that but I understand that it is not government policy. If he
could clarify that, I would be grateful. More than 10,000 women
and children have now been killed in Gaza, so does the Minister
agree that the UK needs to fully replenish our humanitarian
support to levels pre the ODA cut? He did not respond to the
question from the noble Lord, Lord Collins, on the West Bank. The
Israeli Government passed a budget this week which included over
$100 million for expanded West Bank settlement and the
weaponisation of some of those settlers. Surely the position of
Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, who oppose this in the Knesset,
should be supported by the Government.
(Con)
The Government have been very clear about the settlements on the
West Bank and I apologise if I did not answer the noble Lord,
Lord Collins. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, is absolutely right
that this is an emerging humanitarian crisis. We entirely support
Israel’s right to defend itself and to perpetrate efforts to
ensure that Hamas never commits such an appalling atrocity again.
We want aid to get to people who are in a really dire state. As
for language, we want the conflict to end and if that is a
ceasefire or a pause I am not going to be semantic; we want to
make sure that we get aid to people in the meantime. We do not
want to limit the opportunity for Israel to defend itself and
fight a legitimate conflict against Hamas, but we want to protect
civilians and get aid in there, and we will do all we can to make
sure that is happening.
(Con)
My Lords, if the 7 October atrocities had never happened, there
would never have been a war in that area at all and nobody—no
man, woman or child—would have died. There were only a few weeks
before the Abraham accords were going to be signed, as noble
Lords all know. If that had happened, we would not have had this
outrageous anti-Semitism increasing throughout the world. Does
the Minister agree with that view?
(Con)
The conflict has had a terrible effect of destabilising people
way beyond the region. As I said earlier, we firmly support
Israel’s right to defend itself but the tragedy is that, while
there was still terrible poverty in Gaza, there was hope for a
great many people. There was an emerging tech economy. There were
things happening of a very good nature. Hamas has spent a very
large amount of money on things it should not have spent money
on—it should have been improving healthcare and education—and
that is a tragedy. We want to support the people of Gaza and the
people of the region in trying to rebuild this shattered
community and make sure that Hamas never has a role in its
governance again.
(CB)
Do the Government continue to share Israel’s assessment that that
country and the world can be free from the threat of Hamas only
if we see Hamas in the same terms as ISIS: in needing to
completely eliminate that threat, rather than cut a deal, make a
ceasefire and entrench its resistance for decades to come?
(Con)
This is a matter to be settled in the region. Countries such as
ours can be involved, and we are involved at a high level,
particularly with negotiations on the hostages. I entirely agree
with the noble Lord: Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and the
horrendous attacks it perpetrated on 7 October cannot be seen as
anything other than a brutal terrorist atrocity.
(Lab)
My Lords, there have been reports of women and girls being
violently raped by Hamas terrorists, but I have seen no
reflection of this in UN reports or actions. Does the Minister
agree with me that, since rape is a war crime, this should be
reflected in the UN’s understanding of the situation?
(Con)
We have very strong views where actions such as rape and torture
are used to perpetrate conflict in any form whatever. I entirely
agree with the noble Baroness that this matter should be
investigated further and the people responsible should be held to
account. We really want to ensure that the vast number of people
who are affected by, and are innocent parties to, this conflict
can receive the humanitarian aid they deserve.
