Frank McNally

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing the debate. It is entirely unacceptable that in the west bank—territory long recognised as occupied under international law—Palestinian families continue to be forcibly displaced from their land, homes and schools, ripped from their livelihoods, and everything else. The roots of the crisis stretch back to 1948, when an estimated 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes. During the six-day war, close to 325,000 Palestinians were displaced from the west bank and Gaza. Today’s displacement is part of a continuing cycle of land seizure, settlement expansion and state-backed dispossession that United Nations and Oxfam reports describe as the largest forced displacement in the west bank since 1967. UN figures show that since late 2024 over 40,000 Palestinians have been uprooted, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm, due to IDF raids and the bulldozing of homes. In 2023 alone, more than 4,000 Palestinians were displaced, with settler violence and access restrictions being the principal causes. Alarmingly, settler-instigated violence is intensifying. In June, 100 armed settlers attacked Kafr Malik, throwing petrol bombs and setting homes ablaze. Three Palestinians were killed and several others were injured, not only at the hands of settlers, but in confrontations involving the IDF. Of course, that has been encouraged by some within the Israeli Government hierarchy. These actions have long been condemned by the United Nations, critical charities and other organisations, including Amnesty International. As parliamentarians, we must fight to uphold international law. Forced displacement and its consequences are not just a violation, but a crime against humanity. We must fully condemn the forced displacement of Palestinians, advocate for the enforcement of ICJ rulings and UN resolutions, support humanitarian access in affected areas, press for the immediate cessation of settler violence and forcible evictions, and ultimately bring an end to these illegal settlements. Displacing Palestinians from their land is not collateral damage; it is a deliberate policy. From 1948 to today, these forced removals continue, sanctioned by settlement expansion and protectionism. There will be no peace in the region until the Palestinian people are protected under international law.