Israel and Gaza Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Gavin Newlands
Main Page: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)Department Debates - View all Gavin Newlands's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Israel and Gaza
Gavin Newlands Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Mr Mitchell
My right hon. Friend sets out very well one of the key aspects of the five-point plan, which Britain is doing everything we can to see implemented.
Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)
Just a few weeks ago, in a debate on arms exports to Israel, the Minister for Trade Policy told Westminster Hall:
“We take our obligations in this space exceptionally seriously. As I have shown before, we have acted to change policy in relation to changing circumstances on the ground.”—[Official Report, 12 December 2023; Vol. 742, c. 272WH.]
The circumstances are tragic and brutal, and crystal clear to anyone willing to see them: Gaza is being razed to the ground and civilians actively targeted, potentially using the very equipment that the UK is exporting to Israel. Over 12,000 children have been butchered, with the Israel Defence Forces busy taking selfies over the ruins and bodies. What exactly will it take for this Government to suspend arms exports to Israel?
Mr Mitchell
The position that the Minister set out in Westminster Hall was absolutely correct. The Government take legal advice on this matter, the arms export Committee does its work effectively, and we will continue to act on the advice that we are given when we are given it.