As I mentioned in my last newsletter I spent 5 days on a fact-finding visit to Palestine during recess. I last went 7 years ago and things have definitely got worse. The Palestinian Authority has a weak leadership and no succession planning. Although there are many well-educated and politically-aware people, no one is now prepared to put their head above the parapet as they are very quickly restricted by the system. It was very depressing.
Around 80% of Palestinians are under the age of 30 and, with very few opportunities in life, you can see dangers for the future. It is why I am so concerned about the present trajectory of the Israeli government. Is it really in their best interest to impose such restrictions on the population of their occupied territories?
For example, we visited refugee camps. We visited a farmer who had had his field burnt along with 5 cars. Two of his friends were shot by settlers from outposts which overlook his farm.
We saw the rubble of a school built with EU and UK money and demolished by the Israeli Defence Force. We met two schoolboys on their bikes who told us they had lessons under a tree instead. We met a ten year-old girl who was desperate to learn but it is too far and too dangerous for her to go to another school.
Children from another village are guarded by IDF soldiers for their walk to and from school because they have to pass by a settler town on the way. Amnesty International were one of the sponsors of the trip and we met other human rights NGOs with similar reports about conditions and the difficulties in the West Bank and Gaza.
More positively, the other sponsor of the visit was Medical Aid for Palestine (www.map.org.uk) and we were able to see one of the two vans that travels around the villages giving medical help. We also visited a charity hospital in Jerusalem which has 30 incubators for special care babies. They are able to look after babies born from as early as 23 weeks and multiple births – we saw quadruplets.
Even here it was upsetting. Mothers from Gaza are only given a permit for a week so once they have given birth they then have to go home and leave their babies in the hospital. This was upsetting on so many fronts - bonding, breastfeeding, and general care are so important in the early months and this is not possible for many mothers.
This time it was this hospital which gave me the biggest heartache. Last time I visited, it was the military courts. In these courts children and adults are detained and 99.7% of them are convicted.
We went back to Hebron, once a bustling historic centre, now closed to Palestinians in the town centre. Only settlers are allowed on some of the roads. Breaking the Silence is made up of ex-IDF soldiers who have decided to speak out about some of their activities having left the armed forces. They are incredibly brave Israelis and are often filmed by settlers during their tour of the area as you can see from the picture.
There were many other visits and talks but we spent the last morning with UNWRA, which was set up in 1948 to help protect, feed and educate Palestinian refugees both in Palestine and the neighbouring countries. Due to funding cuts, it is doing this on a shoestring and as the Palestinian Authority has very little money, things will continue to get worse. The contrast with the thriving and successful state of Israel is stark. I am still writing up my notes but if you are interested in more information about what else we saw, please contact me.
I have been back in Parliament this week where it has been quiet with our legislation going through without needing votes.
The PM was in the United States so the Deputies were in charge for PMQs, where I had a question. I used it to urge the government to speed up my Ten Minute Rule Bill to create a register of children not in school.
Angela Rayner was standing in for Keir Starmer and she brought the issue up in her six questions at the start of the session, before mine was reached. However everyone knows I have written this Bill and it clearly enjoys cross-party support.
As usual I attended the education and public accounts committees. I also had a meeting in No10 about the nutrient neutrality problem which has led to housebuilding stopping in our area.
It was also the annual Macmillan Cancer charity Tug of War with the House of Commons pitted against the House of Lords. I did it last year and was delighted to do my bit this year, we won handsomely. The Army tug of war team gave us some invaluable coaching. They were an amazing team, beating other teams that had a much heavier weight. It is all about the technique.
I am at present in Gibraltar with the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, an interesting time to be here as Spain are having a quick general election and Gibraltar will be a much-contested issue.
Have a great weekend.
