Gaza: UN Commission of Inquiry Report

Lord Grocott Excerpts

Thursday 18th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will hear from the Conservative Benches next and then the Liberal Democrat Benches.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My Lords, it is time for this side. The Front Benches do not come first.

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we can get both noble Lords in, whichever goes first.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

If the Government of Israel do not wish the United Kingdom Government to do what they said they would do about six weeks ago—we can all read a calendar, and we know what is happening next week—it is clear what they need to do. It is up to the Government of Israel to make their decision.

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My Lords, the exchanges here, as is often the case, really do not reflect the horror of what we see on our television screens night after night after night, which constitutes what is happening in Gaza. We have become immune. It is almost routine these days to see hospitals bombed, schools attacked, trade envoys or humanitarian envoys attacked, and children killed by the thousand. When all these things are going on in front of our eyes and are unchallengeable, to argue about precise definitions of genocide somehow misses the central point, especially when children are now being shot as they queue for food. That has plumbed a depth we have never seen before. Surely, we can acknowledge that whether there is genocide or not, there is no argument whatever that multiple severe war crimes have repeatedly been committed by the Israelis in the Gaza territory.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Like my noble friend, I worry about our immunity to this and that we lose our capacity for compassion and to feel the horror of what is happening. I note the concern that we see on the streets, which is sometimes expressed in ways that we do not agree with and would not wish to see further. The worst thing about what is happening is that it is so preventable. The attacks on hospitals and civilians, including children, and the danger that these put the hostages in, could and should be stopped. We are hopeful that by continuing to make the statements that we make and to exert diplomatic pressure on the Government of Israel and talk to them—Israel should be a close ally and friend; historically it has been so close to people in this country, which makes it all the more saddening to see what is happening—very soon we can see an end to this needless violence.