Tory former minister Kit Malthouse called on Foreign Secretary David Lammy to accept Israel has ‘crossed a monstrous red line’ as he highlighted the plight of children in Gaza
Tory MP asks if Israel has crossed a monstrous red line
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been told Israel has crossed a “monstrous red line” amid reports people in Gaza have been threatened with “extermination”.
Tory MP Kit Malhouse voiced his outrage at bombings reported to have claimed the lives of 80 Palestinian children in less than an hour on Tuesday night. He voiced his heartbreak over accounts of children going through amputations with no anaesthetic.
It comes as Mr Lammy said Israel is “at risk of” breaking international law – toning down his claim that it was doing so earlier this week. He also confirmed that a British national was injured in an attack on a UN compound in Gaza as he hit out at “appalling loss of life”.
Former minister Mr Malthouse told the Commons: “It’s been estimated that in the opening salvos of this appalling aggression the Israelis killed 80 Palestinian children in the space of 51 minutes. There have been reports of children going through amputations without anaesthetic due to the blockade.
“And of course it’s been reported that leaflets were dropped across Gaza last night threatening extermination. Surely, surely even for the Government the Israelis have now crossed a monstrous red line.”
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He went on to point out that ministers had been on the airwaves promising British troops to keep the peace between Israel and Russia. “What is about the Palestinian people that means they’re less deserving of that kind of protection?”
Mr Lammy responded: “It’s absolutely right that he would bring their plight to this House, but the way forward, we were shown at the beginning of January, is a ceasefire, negotiations to getting to Phase 2, getting to Phase 3 and horizon to a two-state solution.
“That is what I will continue to fight for.” He told MPs it is “difficult to see” how Israel’s denial of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza “can be compatible with international humanitarian law”.
Mr Lammy told the Commons: “For weeks now supplies of basic goods and electricity have been blocked, leaving over half-a-million civilians once again cut off from clean drinking water and sparking a 200% surge in the price of some basic food stuffs; a boon to those criminals who use violence to control supplies.
“As I told the House on Monday, this is appalling and unacceptable. Ultimately, of course, these are matters for the courts not governments to determine, but it’s difficult to see how denying humanitarian assistance to a civilian population can be compatible with international humanitarian law.
“Though it’s important to say I could have been a little clearer in the House on Monday, our position remains that Israel’s actions in Gaza are a clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law.”
Mr Lammy added that the attacks on Gaza on Tuesday night had caused the largest Palestinian death toll on a single day since the war began. He said: “A number of Hamas figures were reportedly killed, but it’s been reported that over 400 Palestinians were killed in missile strikes and artillery barrages. The majority of them were women and children.
“This appears to have been the deadliest single day for Palestinians since the war began. This is an appalling loss of life, and we mourn the loss of every civilian.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has denied dropping leaflets claiming “the world map will not change if all the people of Gaza vanish”.
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