Crispin Blunt

Conservative Party | Reigate

Foreign and Commonwealth Questions

Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con): What sanctions are available to the UK in response to unlawful killings by an occupying power (a) under the terms of the 4th Geneva Convention and (b) otherwise.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Jack Straw): There is no specific sanction provided for under the 4th Geneva convention or otherwise but we have repeatedly made our concerns known at national and EU level to the Government of Israel about their policy of so-called targeted killings, which we consider to be unlawful.

Mr. Blunt : Before the killing of Sheikh Yassin and three people in his immediate vicinity, B'Tselem, the Israeli information centre for human rights—the Foreign Office accepts its figures as accurate—recorded that since September 2000, 135 Palestinians have been extra-judicially executed by Israel, and that in the course of those assassinations another 90 Palestinians were killed, including 28 children. The Government have repeatedly made it clear that that policy is illegal. Do they accept that the policy is not only criminal, but self-defeating? How many more murdered people will it take for them to attempt to fulfil their obligations under articles 146 and 147 of the convention? Surely it is incumbent on them to use other sanctions against the Israeli Government to get them to pursue a policy that is lawful, moral and much more likely to reverse the spiral of hatred and violence.

Mr. Straw: Our position on those so-called assassinations — straightforward killings — is the same as the hon. Gentleman's, and it is shared by others on both sides of the House. The killings are unlawful, unjustified and self-defeating, and they damage the case that Israel makes in the world. The fact that the killings led to the deaths of not only those whom Israel holds responsible for terrorism, but entirely innocent bystanders, including children, simply emphasises the unlawful nature of that approach, and its counter-productive effect. We will continue to make our position clear to the Government of Israel in representations, which we continually make both bilaterally and through the European Union.
 
So far as peace is concerned, the best way to secure a peaceful settlement to that long-standing and terrible conflict is by encouraging and cajoling all parties to return to the pathway set out in the road map. It is the only pathway to peace, and, despite the difficulties, we will continue to do our best to ensure that the parties pursue it.