I thank my hon. Friend, who is correct in what he says. A lot of our constituents will not be aware of the procedures and protocols of Parliament, and how Labour Members hardly, if ever, vote for any SNP amendments. This raises another important point that my constituents have been emailing me about: signing early-day motions. I have been trying to explain to constituents, on the doorstep and elsewhere, that hundreds of early-day motions are in circulation at any given time and that shadow Ministers, such as myself, and Ministers never sign them and they do not have the requisite power. Those are some of the protocols that my constituents and others will not be aware of.
I wish to thank the Labour Front-Bench team, who have listened patiently to the passionate arguments of Members such as myself and tabled a comprehensive amendment last night addressing our concerns. First, it calls for
“an end to the violence in Israel and Palestine.”
That is what we all want to see. Secondly, it reaffirms
“the jurisdiction of the ICC to address the conduct of all parties”,
so that we can ascertain what war crimes have occurred. Thirdly, it calls on Israel to
“lift the siege conditions allowing food, water, electricity, medicine and fuel into Gaza”.
Fourthly, it calls on us to
“guarantee that people in Gaza who are forced to flee during this conflict can return to their homes and seek an end to the expansion of illegal settlements and settler violence in the West Bank”.
Fifthly, it addresses the road map and how we can get
“an enduring cessation of fighting—
basically, a ceasefire—
“as soon as possible and a credible, diplomatic and political process to deliver the lasting peace of a two-state solution.”
6.2 pm