Qatar: Israeli Strike Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateSammy Wilson
Main Page: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)Department Debates - View all Sammy Wilson's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 day, 17 hours ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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I am glad to be answering questions from my hon. Friend again, as he has been a persistent advocate on these matters. There is deep concern about events. The attack in Jerusalem was horrific, as I said to the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman). The developments in the west bank, both over the summer and before, are deeply concerning, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising them. We will continue to keep all measures under review, as he would expect. We have taken far-reaching actions, with three waves of sanctions targeted in particular on violent settlers. We will continue to keep such options under review as developments proceed.
Let us look at the facts behind Israel’s strike. We have a bunch of terrorists who have been sitting in the safety of Qatar for years, organising and financing acts of terror, including the mass murder of civilians in Israel this week, and boasting about their involvement in it. Is it not an advance that those people are eliminated and it is made clear to them that they will face the consequences of the terror that they organise? Is showing them that they will be pursued and punished, and that they will not win, not more likely to drive them to the peace table than to continue their acts of terror?
We have condemned the strike, and I do so again. It violates Qatar’s sovereignty. Obviously, the question of the facts of the strike will now be contested, and, as I said earlier, the Qatari Government are releasing those facts as they conduct a full investigation. Regardless of anybody else, there were Qatari officials killed in the strike, and it was a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty. For that reason alone, it is worth condemning.