I very much welcome the publication of this Bill and the fact that it is proceeding through the House. In dealing with this issue, it is important that we bring other countries with us. I have experience of dealing with this issue. I was in Gaza in 2009 after the changeover of the American President. During the period of that changeover, on 27 December 2008, Israeli forces went into Gaza, bombing the area and killing 1,400 people, 400 of whom were children. They kept working until 18 January. The new President was sworn in on 20 January. Israel used that opportunity. No action was taken against Israel at that time. Its forces used cluster munitions, which are the same as the IRA nail bombs, and they used white phosphorous, in violation of all international law. No action was taken. If action was taken at that stage, 72,000 people would not have been killed in the last three years. It is therefore extremely important that we are careful in our approach to bringing the international community with us and that we manage it very well. The Minister and previous Ministers for Foreign Affairs have worked very well in this area. It is about bringing all of Europe with us. I was in Washington in 2009. I was part of a joint committee of the European Parliament and the US Congress. There was no support for the Palestinians on that committee. I was probably the only person on that committee who was in any way supportive of Palestine and critical of Israel as a result of what happened on that occasion. We are now 17 years on and we have still not brought all of Europe with us on this issue. It is therefore extremely important that we work on that front. That is why it is important that the legislation we bring forward is moderate while still challenging what Israel has done. The human cost of this conflict extends far beyond those killed and injured. Displacement has become a defining feature of the crisis. Families are uprooted from their homes and communities and deprived of security, stability and dignity. Amnesty International released a report today documenting that, between January 2023 and April 2026, 3,407 Palestinian homes in the occupied territories were demolished, resulting in the displacement of thousands of people. These figures serve as a stark reminder that behind every statistic is a family forced to leave behind their home, their livelihood and their future. We must recognise that displacement is not simply a humanitarian challenge; it is a profound human tragedy. Children lose access to education, communities are fragmented and generations face uncertainty as to whether they will ever be able to return to the places they call home. The protection of civilians from forced displacement must remain a core principle of international humanitarian law and a priority for the international community. Equally concerning are efforts to obstruct or undermine humanitarian initiatives intended to assist civilians in Gaza. The international community has a responsibility to uphold international humanitarian law and to ensure that all parties to conflicts are held accountable for their actions. In September 2025, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel published its conclusions that Israeli authorities and security forced had committed four of the five acts defined as genocide in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The human cost of this conflict remains devastating but it is important that, no matter what we do, we bring other countries within Europe with us. We must also work at an international level to bring countries with us to ensure decisive action is taken against Israel over this conflict, which has been allowed to continue. In the last 17 years, over 75,000 people have been killed.

Sentiment score: -0.09