East Jerusalem: Access to Emergency Care Debate
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Lord Anderson of Swansea
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East Jerusalem: Access to Emergency Care
Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts(7 years, 1 month ago)
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Lord Bates
A tremendous amount of work is going on with Syrians, not least that which DfID is supporting through its work with the UNRWA. We support 22 clinics which are providing essential medical treatment. This situation, in any circumstance, cannot be justified, but it needs to be resolved in a peaceful, constructive way which recognises the legitimate security concerns of the State of Israel.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
Of course it is distressing and the people of the West Bank and Gaza deserve the very best medical treatment, but will the Minister confirm the point that has already been made—that on many occasions in the recent past, ambulances have been used to convey terrorists and explosives for use in Israel?
Lord Bates
We recognise that and of course we acknowledge the absolute right of the State of Israel to defend itself against terrorist attacks. We believe that with good will on both sides, it will be possible to come to a situation where innocent patients are not ending up as the victims of terrorist activities being perpetrated in Gaza or elsewhere.