McLaughlin says sale of arms to Israel amid continuing Gazan atrocities is ‘complicity not neutrality’ - video Dailymotion

McLaughlin says sale of arms to Israel amid continuing Gazan atrocities is ‘complicity not neutrality’

Transcript

00:00I rise today to express my horror, my heartbreak and my anger at the worsening humanitarian

00:07catastrophe in Gaza. Since October 7, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed,

00:15many of them women and children. Over 15,000 have been arrested, entire families have been

00:21wiped out, cities reduced to rubble and now in perhaps the most horrifying development of all,

00:28children are dying of starvation. This morning, doctors in Gaza described scenes of total carnage

00:34as at least 27 people were reportedly killed by Israeli fire at an aid distribution centre.

00:40Hospitals are overwhelmed, medical staff are working in impossible conditions, casualties are

00:46mountain by the hour. In 2025, in full view of the world, we are witnessing the deliberate blocking

00:54of aid. This is not a natural disaster, this is a man-made atrocity. Let us be absolutely clear,

01:01the denial of food, water and medicine to civilians is not just a moral outrage, it is a breach of

01:07international law. The Israeli government and the IDF cannot be allowed to use humanitarian aid

01:14as a bargaining chip in negotiations. Aid is not a tool of revenge, it is a lifeline. Mr. Speaker,

01:22the people of Gaza have been left abandoned by much of the international community and Europe,

01:27including the British government, is failing in its duty. While leaders express concern, arms continue

01:33to be sold to Israel. This is not neutrality, this is complicity. We urgently need a full and immediate

01:42ceasefire, the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid and a return to meaningful peace talks, talks that are

01:48grounded in justice, dignity and equal rights for both Palestinians and Israelis. But peace cannot be

01:55built on the rubble of homes and the graves of children. It cannot be achieved while aid is withheld,

02:02while journalists are silent and while international law is ignored with impunity. Mr Speaker, I stand with

02:09those across these islands who are calling for an end to this horror. We must demand more than words from

02:15our governments. We must demand action and an end to arms sales and a clear international commitment to

02:22peace. Because every hour we delay, another child goes hungry, another mother mourns, another family is

02:30shattered. And history will ask, what do we do?