Gaza debated in the House of Lords, 16 January 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs what steps he is taking to secure a lasting ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Gaza.
A brief debate followed, during which David Cameron the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs said: “Right now, as we speak, nine out of 10 people in Gaza are living on less than one meal a day. It is that serious.”
But Cameron fully supported Israel’s actions in his concluding remarks:
“[…] Hamas could end this tomorrow by saying that it was going to lay down its weapons or leave. Everyone is aware that we want a sustainable ceasefire. That means Hamas not in power and not able to launch rockets and terror, and we have said we want to see an immediate pause so we can get aid in and hostages out. However, in many ways, the very best outcome would be to see whether we could convert that immediate pause for aid and hostages into a sustainable ceasefire without further hostilities. But for that to happen, a series of other things would have to happen: there would have to be immediate negotiations to release all the hostages, the Hamas leadership would have to leave Gaza, and we would have to be clear that there was no more danger of rocket and terror attacks on Israel. We would have to put together something based on the Palestinian Authority, backed by other Palestinians, going back into Gaza. In many ways, that would be the best outcome, but if we call now for an immediate ceasefire with no further fighting when Hamas is still in power, still launching rockets and still capable of launching terror attacks, not only would we not have a sustainable ceasefire and peace but we would have no hope of the thing that I think many in this House would like to see, which is a two-state solution.”
This is what the phrase ‘sustainable ceasefire’ means, in the documents in the House of Commons library which state:
“In December 2023 the UK Foreign Secretary, writing alongside the German Foreign Minister, said both countries “must do all we can to pave the way to a sustainable ceasefire”, which would result in a “sustainable peace”. The Government says a sustainable ceasefire would include the release of hostages, delivery of aid, and for Israel to no longer be threatened by Hamas.
In December, the Labour Party also backed Government calls for a “sustainable ceasefire” and humanitarian pauses. A ‘sustainable ceasefire’ means ‘ceasefire, but not before the destruction of the enemy’. The SNP has continued to call for an immediate ceasefire, while the Liberal Democrats have called for an “immediate bilateral ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas.”
On 17th January Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Green) asked a Question to the Prime Minister about an immediate ceasefire:
Mr Speaker,
“Until the UK Government calls for an immediate ceasefire, it is complicit in the horrors…in Gaza.”
Those are not my words but those of the head of Oxfam who, like every single agency trying to operate on the ground, is clear that aid cannot be effectively delivered while fighting continues. More UK aid is of course welcome but even when it does get through, it can result in what one Palestinian aid worker calls
“bombing us on full stomachs.”
Some 24,000 people have already been killed so what will it take for the Prime Minister to back a permanent bilateral ceasefire?
Of course we want to see a peaceful resolution to this conflict as soon as possible. A sustainable permanent ceasefire with an end to the destruction, fighting and loss of life, the release of hostages and no resumption of hostilities would of course be the best way forward, but in order to achieve that a number of things need to happen: Hamas would have to agree to release all the hostages; Hamas would have to no longer be in charge of Gaza; the threat of more rocket attacks from Hamas into Israel would have to end; and the Palestinian Authority, boosted with assistance, would need to return to Gaza in order to provide governance and aid. That is a sustainable ceasefire that we will work very hard to bring about.
Labour Affairs 