Middle East

Debate between Baroness Blackstone and Lord Collins of Highbury

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackstone (Lab)]

My Lords, unlike the extraordinary accusations made by the spokesman for the Conservative Party just now, I congratulate the Government on the carefully thought-out and nuanced position they have taken on the military conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. I thank my noble friend and his senior colleagues for the efforts they are making to try to find a long-term and lasting diplomatic solution to the issue of nuclear weapons in Iran. Turning to what is happening in Gaza, can my noble friend tell the House a little more about what is happening with the replacement of the completely failed Israeli-American system of aid distribution, which I think the Conservative spokesman said he thought was fine? Have steps been taken to replace it with NGOs that are familiar with the best ways of distributing aid in Gaza, so that we do not see any more slaughter of Palestinian civilians desperately trying to get food aid for their starving children?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for her comments. To be absolutely clear, we are leaving no stone unturned in getting aid into Gaza. We are working with a range of NGOs—everyone possible—but we remain committed to the solution of ensuring that aid is properly distributed through the main agency, UNRWA. We have sought assurances on that and we have taken every opportunity that we have had to put it to the Israeli Government that they should open those routes to aid to ensure that it can get through. We are now in a desperate situation; as the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said, those seeking aid through the US-Israeli agency are being shot as they approach the distribution points. That cannot be right. We must be able to get proper aid in through the appropriate agencies.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Baroness Blackstone and Lord Collins of Highbury

Monday 9th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackstone (Lab)]

My Lords, the Statement makes reference to the importance of a two-state solution if we are to get security for both Palestinians and Israelis. In the light of that, what action—that means more than condemnation; it really does mean action—are the Government taking, given the decision by the Israeli Government to build 22 new settlements on the West Bank? These settlements are illegal and will make it more and more difficult to have a two-state solution. If the Minister can give the House some hope that we will take action that goes beyond simply condemnation on this matter, I would be grateful.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hear what my noble friend says, but since we came into office this Government have taken action. We stopped the export of arms that could be used in Gaza and we are determined to take further action, particularly with the discussions on the free trade agreement. This is a Government who have taken action, but it is not just about punitive action; it is about working with allies to achieve that goal of a two-state solution. That is why we are very committed to ensuring that the conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia is a success. If we can focus all international allies, including those in the Middle East, on the importance of delivering a two-state solution, this Government will be taking not just punitive action but positive action towards a peaceful solution. I say to the noble Lord opposite that the only real secure future, for both Palestinians and Israel, is a two-state solution where both communities can live in peace.

Middle East Update

Debate between Baroness Blackstone and Lord Collins of Highbury

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I agree with the noble Lord. On one of the many occasions when I was challenging him as the Minister about ensuring access to aid, he said that airlifts and sea routes are all possible, but the main thing to deliver the scale of aid is opening those road routes with trucks. We are absolutely ready. We have got those trucks full, we are ready to deliver that aid, and we need the Israeli Government to ensure that they can have that access. We are putting every bit of diplomatic pressure, with our allies, to ensure that they do this. I accept that action is not about talking, it is about persuading.

[Baroness Blackstone (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome much of the Minister’s response to what the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, said about the appalling, massive expansion of the war in Gaza, although I was a little disappointed by his response on recognising Palestine as a state, which is now urgent.

I raise a slightly different issue: the Knesset is now taking steps which will destroy Israeli NGOs’ work to hold their Government to account for their cruel and inhumane treatment of Palestinian civilians. The change in the law being proposed threatens to destroy these NGOs and in doing so will deny Israeli civil society their voices. Can the Minister say what steps the Government will take to try to stop this happening, so that independent monitoring and holding to account by NGOs can continue?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My noble friend makes a very good point, and she is well aware of both my personal and this Government’s commitment to supporting civil society in all contexts. We have been pressing diplomatically. A lot of legislation has gone through the Knesset which still is not being implemented. We are absolutely clear that there should be no impediment to NGOs and civil society delivering that support and aid that are so desperately needed in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Baroness Blackstone and Lord Collins of Highbury

Monday 10th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I have made it absolutely clear on previous occasions, and I repeat, that there is no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza. We will continue to work with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the US and regional partners to build a consensus for a post-conflict Gaza governance and security framework that supports the conditions for a permanent and sustainable peace. As part of that process, we have committed financial support of £5 million to support the PA in relation to this. We have also established two key roles in the Palestinian Authority to ensure that recovery and this new form of governance. We are absolutely committed that there is no role for Hamas in the future.

[Baroness Blackstone (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate the Government on their decision to spend an extra £17 million to support the needs of Gazans for food, housing and shelter. Will he tell the House how that £17 million is going to be spent, particularly in the absence of UNRWA, which has disgracefully been denied its continued operation in East Jerusalem? If there are no other agencies with the right experience to deliver that aid, it is hard to think how Gazans are going to get it.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

As my noble friend said, on 28 January, the Minister for Development announced that further £17 million in funding to ensure that healthcare, food and shelter reach tens of thousands of civilians and support vital infrastructure across the Occupied Territories and in neighbouring countries. We have also delivered life-saving UK-funded medical supplies via Jordanian helicopters, an operation supported by the UK military.

On UNRWA, the United Kingdom continues to lead international action to press for a resolution to this issue. On 31 January, the Foreign Secretary joined his French and German counterparts to call on Israel to abide by its international obligations. We are in close contact with the United Nations on next steps. The Foreign Secretary spoke to the UN Secretary-General on 30 January, and the Minister for Development spoke to the emergency relief co-ordinator, Tom Fletcher, on 24 January. It is my hope that I shall be meeting him tomorrow to reiterate the message in terms of access for humanitarian aid into the Occupied Territories.

Syria

Debate between Baroness Blackstone and Lord Collins of Highbury

Thursday 12th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blackstone (Lab)]

My Lords, may I ask my noble friend the Minister a little more about how this £11 million in extra aid will be spent? He mentioned the use of the UN and other NGOs, but I wonder whether there have been any preliminary contacts with HTS and, if not, when these might take place, to discuss how aid should be distributed but also to try to establish a little more about its intentions and assess whether they are entirely benign, which I hope they will be.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

Well, the situation is fast moving, and we are keeping it under constant review. HTS is a proscribed organisation in the United Kingdom, having been added as an alias of al-Qaeda in 2017. I say very clearly that we will judge HTS by its actions and continue to monitor closely how it and other parties to this conflict treat all civilians in areas that it controls. The Government do not routinely comment on whether a group is being considered for proscription or deproscription, but I stress that we are keeping the matter under constant review and will be making judgments based on actions, not just on the original position.