Question
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I welcome the Government’s new sanctions to address illegal settlement expansion in the west bank. We have all watched in great horror as Palestinians face injustice and ethnic cleansing. Indeed, a Human Rights Watch report found that Israeli forces had committed war crimes in the west bank. Will the Secretary of State stand by his words to this House, as I am sure that he will, not only to call out injustice and suffering, but to act? With that in mind, will the Government sanction Israeli Defence Minister Katz and Major General Bluth, who are implicated in these crimes?
Answer
Let me join you, Mr Speaker, in wishing my hon. Friend a happy birthday. May I say how well informed you are? I credit your staff, myself. In all seriousness, the situation in the west bank is horrifying. We are witnessing unprecedented levels of violence, including settler terrorism and ethnic cleansing in some areas. I am not going to speculate on future designations of specific individuals, but we have laid legislation this month to expand the global human rights sanctions regime to target those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law, and we will use those powers.
Verdict: AMBER (52/100)
The reply directly condemns the situation in the West Bank and commits to using newly introduced sanctions powers, which fully answers the first part of the question. On the second part, asking whether the named individuals Katz and Bluth will be sanctioned, the reply declines to speculate about future designations without giving a reason and does not mention either person, so this part is only partially answered. A member of the public would likely need to ask again for a specific answer about those two individuals.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Secretary of State stand by his stated position to call out injustice and suffering in the West Bank, and act on it? | Addressed | Direct | The reply restates the position that the West Bank situation is horrifying and involves settler terrorism and ethnic cleansing, which calls out the injustice, and then commits to action by pointing to newly laid sanctions legislation and saying the powers will be used. |
| Will the Government sanction Israeli Defence Minister Katz and Major General Bluth, who are implicated in alleged war crimes in the West Bank? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply declines to speculate on future designations of specific individuals but gives no reason for not doing so, and it never mentions Katz or Bluth; the references to the expanded sanctions regime and its use are generic and do not say whether these two named individuals will be sanctioned. |