Israel and Palestine

Kim Leadbeater Excerpts

Monday 11th December 2023 Westminster Hall

[Tahir Ali]

My hon. Friend makes a very pertinent point. The international convention on genocide has also just marked its 75th anniversary. The UK Government simply cannot continue to ignore the evidence of war crimes being committed by Israel in its campaign against the Palestinians. There is an unstated objective of a single-state solution. That is why I think the UK does not recognise Palestine as a state: because it supports the unstated objective of Israel to have a one-state solution. A one-state solution should not be the objective. If there is going to be a two-state solution, where Palestine lives in peace alongside the Israeli state, now is the time for the UK Government to recognise Palestine as a state.

Why did the UK Government abstain when 13 of the 15 members of the Security Council voted for a ceasefire? One member can veto 13. The UN Secretary-General invoked article 99, which has not been invoked since 1989, with the sponsorship of nearly 100 countries, but one country can then defy it by railroading a veto. That goes to show that the United Nations is nothing but a toothless tiger that is now being used against the Palestinian people.

Nor can this Government continue to ignore the monumental displacement of people in Gaza, the largest since 1984. What is occurring looks increasingly like ethnic cleansing, and we must not be complicit in that. I therefore take this opportunity once again to urge the UK Government to use their international standing to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the resumption of peace talks as a matter of urgency.

It is not enough simply to recognise the clear injustices being perpetrated in the context of this conflict alone. The Palestinian people have been subject to oppression, exploitation, theft and violence for decades. Their land has been illegally seized by the settler groups. They have been evicted from their rightful homes in East Jerusalem, and they have lived under constant blockade and occupation. Day by day, the Israeli Government strive to make a two-state solution less and less tenable. It is now obvious that the current Israeli Government have no interest in a lasting, just and equitable two-state solution. The UK must rise above that and recognise Palestine as a separate state.

[Kim Leadbeater (Batley and Spen) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an impassioned speech. Does he agree that, while the absolute priority for all of us must be to bring an end to the violence from all parties in the middle east and to stop the intolerable death toll in Gaza as quickly as possible, the conflict can only ever be truly resolved when there is a concerted effort by the international community? Ministers must therefore explain why, for over 10 years, this Government have been content to stand on the sidelines rather than pursuing a meaningful political strategy in conjunction with our international allies.