Mhairi Black urges UK Government to condemn Gaza mass graves as war crimes

Mhairi Black has urged the UK Government to condemn reports of mass graves at hospitals in Gaza as war crimes.

The SNP depute Westminster leader reiterated her party's call to halt arms sales to Israel during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

The Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP stepped in alongside Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The deputies were taking part because Rishi Sunak was in Germany.

The United Nations said they were "horrified" by reports that over 300 bodies had been found outside a hospital in Gaza in the last week.

Black compared the condemning of mass graves in Ukraine as war crimes with the failure to so far do so in this case.

She told the Commons: “Two years ago when mass graves were discovered in Ukraine, this House united in condemnation and rightly treated this graves as evidence of war crimes, which Russia must be made to answer for.

“Yesterday, Palestinian officials uncovered two mass graves outside the bombed hospitals in Gaza. These graves also constitute as war crimes don’t they?”

Dowden replied: “Well of course we would expect the democratic government of Israel to investigate any allegations of misconduct and that is exactly what they do, and it is exactly what the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister urge them to do.

“But I find it quite extraordinary that she seeks to draw parallels between the legitimate war of self defence of Israel and the conduct of Russia.”

Black then said that this should be a reason to halt arms sales to Israel as "there is a risk that war crimes may be taking place".

She said: “300 bodies, including the elderly and the injured, some of which had been stripped naked, mutilated, with their hands tied behind their backs.

“The UK’s own arms policy states that if there is even a risk that war crimes may be taking place, then that is reason enough to halt the sale of arms.

“Given all we know, why then is the Prime Minister yet to do so?”

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden replied: “We continue to urge the Israeli government to investigate any allegations of misconduct. The difference though is that we can trust the Israeli government, a democratically elected government, to properly investigate those things.

“Of course we keep the advice under review. The Foreign Secretary has recently made it clear that he has conducted a determination and has not changed his advice regarding export licences and I think that is the correct decision.”

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