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Gaza

The hon. and learned Gentleman is absolutely right. If there was nothing to hide, journalists would obviously be free to go in. Indeed, it would be in Israel's interests to allow them free access, so that the whole world could see that, transparently, there was nothing going on that should not be going on. Several Members have pointed out that more than 1,000 people in Gaza have been killed, including many women and children. A United Nations watchdog said recently that Israel was showing a ““manifest disrespect”” for the protection of children in Gaza. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has said that although Israel signed a UN protocol condemning its acts in places where children were likely to be present, they are still continuing, day after day. Obviously I want a ceasefire. I believe that we need an accord between Israel and Palestine, but of course there must be a ceasefire first. I am disgusted by the present situation, with Israel's complete disregard of the Geneva convention in respect of protected people and with its continued illegal occupation of territories outside its pre-1967 borders. What is the United Kingdom Government's position on Israel's targeting of United Nations schools? Do they support calls from United Nations officials for a full UN-backed investigation of the bombing of Palestinian schools by Israel, with the aim of bringing those responsible to book? How do they view Israeli claims that Hamas fighters were present at al-Fakhura school in Jabaliya before it was bombed? Do they believe that the presence of fighters legitimises the bombing of a United Nations school? Those are some of the questions that urgently need answers, and no doubt they will be answered in due course. We now know that white phosphorous is being used. Unless it is being used for shielding purposes, that in itself constitutes a contravention of the Geneva conventions. I ask the Government to consider immediately an arms embargo on Israel similar to those imposed in 1982 and 1994. We all want to see a ceasefire, but previous calls for one have been totally ignored. The disproportionate—I use that word again—military intervention in Gaza is nothing short of a war crime, and it galls me that the international community's call for a ceasefire is being studiously ignored by Israel. A couple of years ago, we debated whether Iraq had been in breach of United Nations resolutions. Indeed, it was the alleged breach of those resolutions that led to the British Government's justification for the subsequent attacks. On 8 January, the United Nations Security Council, through resolution 1860, called for"““an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza””." Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, responded that Israel would continue its campaign, and the BBC reported that at least 50 air strikes had hit Gaza as the United Nations was passing the resolution. Israel has form, in that its current conduct clearly mirrors its conduct in Lebanon in 2006. Why do we have these double standards? Why is Israel considered to be above international law? Could that be linked to the fact that Britain exported nearly £19 million-worth of arms to Israel in the first quarter of last year? Is that the reason? I do not know what the reason is, but it is apparent to me that Israel is acting as though it were above international law, and that cannot be right. I believe that until it starts acting responsibly and comes to the table to discuss peace, it should be considered an international pariah.