Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Greg Smith and Hamish Falconer

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

I have absolutely no sympathy with the comments and rhetoric of the two Israeli Ministers that the Minister has announced sanctions on. In his statement, the Minister said clearly, “we will not sit by while extremists wreck the prospects of future peace”. If the action he has just announced is not to be seen as a double standard, where are the sanctions against Ministers within the Palestinian Authority who have incited violence and made vile comments of hatred against Jews and Israelis?

[Mr Falconer]

As I am afraid I say with regularity, I will not speculate on further sanctions on either side of the conflict from the Dispatch Box, but the hon. Gentleman is right that the thresholds and tests are the same. We condemn antisemitic rhetoric, we condemn incitement to violence, and we will keep all sanctions under review.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Greg Smith and Hamish Falconer

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I recognise that when we talk in this Chamber about aid restrictions, it can seem like an abstract concept. My hon. Friend is right about what that looks like, person to person. There are terrible shortages of all kinds of desperately needed items that preserve life and dignity, and nothing about the last few days indicates that the new aid measures are doing anywhere near enough to try to avert that tragedy. We not only make our own assessments, but pay careful heed to the assessments of others. I was a diplomat before. The International Committee of the Red Cross is a sober organisation that is not prone to strong statements, and the statement that it has made in recent days about the conditions in Gaza is sobering reading. We are under no illusions about the urgency and the gravity of the situation. I was pleased to be with the Foreign Secretary on 20 May when he announced further measures. We have been clear that further measures will come. We are trying, as the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel) has asked us, to persuade the Israelis to change course. If they do not, we will return to this House.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

I listened carefully to the answer that the Minister gave to the right and proper question from the hon. Member for High Peak (Jon Pearce) just now. Will the Minister not accept that simply calling for Hamas to go back to the negotiating table is nowhere near strong enough? For there to be accuracy in this debate, it must be publicly and clearly acknowledged that the only blocker to a ceasefire deal that will get the hostages out, and the bodies returned of those hostages who have died, is Hamas.

[Mr Falconer]

We have condemned Hamas. I have condemned Hamas repeatedly, and we will continue to do so. A ceasefire clearly requires two parties. We welcomed Israel’s return to the ceasefire negotiations. We called on Hamas to do the same. We are glad to hear that there seems to have been some progress. We will continue to press all sides on this point until we have a ceasefire.

Gaza: UK Assessment

Debate between Greg Smith and Hamish Falconer

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I am the Minister; these responsibilities weigh particularly heavily on me. I am not blind to the IPC or to Tom Fletcher’s testimony at a session that we called. Do hon. Members think that I am unaware of the horrors being meted out to people in Gaza? I am not unaware: I am taking every action that I can, as are other Ministers. It is an intolerable situation, as hon. Members heard from the Prime Minister earlier, and we are lifting every effort to try to change it.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

Nobody wants war, but we must reflect that this is a war. It is a war between our ally Israel and the aggressor, Hamas. It was Hamas who brutally murdered, mutilated and raped innocent Israeli citizens. It is Hamas who still keep 58 hostages under lock and key. It is Hamas who, in their own charter, have genocidal intent, calling for the wiping out of Israel and the killing of Jews. Will the Minister at least accept that those people who wish to call those trying to defend their own citizens genocidal are playing into the hands of the terrorists themselves, who will continue to use their own citizens as human shields and give no pathway to peace?

[Mr Falconer]

I condemn Hamas and their actions entirely. Israel is an ally, but we say to all our allies that international humanitarian law is a binding framework for us all. When it is breached in one place, the breach echoes around the world. That is why we have been so clear on these questions throughout.

Northern Gaza

Debate between Greg Smith and Hamish Falconer

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question, although I take issue with it. This Government have done more than rhetoric, whether it is the £13 million of funding we announced in December; the £112 million of funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories; the quite different position we have taken on questions of international justice, compared with our predecessors; or the extensive funding we provide to the ICC each year to ensure that it can do its work. I want to be clear that we do not specify that the funding is in relation to Gaza; we give it so that the ICC can pursue its work without fear or favour globally, and we will continue to do so.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

The aggressors in this situation are the terrorists in Hamas. The ones who took and continue to hold hostages are the terrorists in Hamas. Does the Minister therefore agree that the only concrete way to end this horror is for those terrorists in Hamas to release the remaining hostages, and that talk of an unconditional ceasefire gives those terrorists no incentive to free those innocent people?

[Mr Falconer]

Hamas are terrorists and they should release the hostages immediately.