Baroness Warsi resigns from government over Gaza policy

Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander has said the British public needs reassurance about the number of UK arms being exported to Israel.

The minister said the government must urgently publish a review into its existing UK export licenses to Israel.

In a statement, he said: “The Government must provide assurances that the Consolidated Criteria on arms control is being upheld, which prevents the export of military and dual use equipment which could be used for internal repression, the abuse of human rights or to provoke or prolong armed conflicts.”

Mr Alexander added it was a "source of shame" that the Prime Minister has so far failed to condemn the scale of Palestinian suffering as a result of the Israeli offensive.

Downing St has announced that Baroness Warsi, who resigned on Monday, will be replaced as a Foreign Office Minister by Baroness Anelay of St Johns.

ITV News Deputy Political Editor Chris Ship has been following developments.

Read: Baroness Warsi: Gaza policy is 'morally indefensible'

A Palestinian who lost 11 members of his family in Israeli drone strikes wants to know if they were used as human shields.

Musheir El Farra from Sheffield told Good Morning Britain he wanted to know if his cousins were used to shield militants "when they were killed in their pyjamas?"

As the occupying power, Israel is "responsible for the people of Palestine" and civilian casualties in Gaza raise "serious questions as to whether we should be allies in terms of supplying arms", according to an influential MP.

Chair of the International Development Committee, Sir Malcolm Bruce told Good Morning Britain Israel's decision to impose "that kind of a blockade" and "killing, quite obviously, innocent people" would not create lasting peace.

Progress towards "building a prosperous and stable future Palestinian state" will not happen unless there is a lasting ceasefire, a No 10 spokesperson said.

A group of MPs has called on the Prime Minister to do more to persuade Israel to lift restrictions on the movements of Palestinians and to improve the supply of water and electricity.

"We welcome the International Development Committee's strong support for our work on economic development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and agree that sustainable development can only happen if economic restrictions are eased," a Government spokesman said.

"We will continue our work to help strengthen Palestinian institutions and build a prosperous and stable future Palestinian state. We are also committed to lasting change in Gaza, though we recognise that reconstruction and growth cannot happen until we have a durable ceasefire."

Israel's policies in Gaza are likely to be counter-productive to its own security situation, MPs have warned, as they called for David Cameron to do more over the issue.

The Commons International Development Committee said:

Read: Cameron urged to persuade Israel over Gaza restrictions

David Cameron must do more to persuade Israel to lift restrictions on the movements of Palestinians, a group of MPs have said.

The Commons International Development Committee said they were "shocked" by what they had seen during the conflict and argued controls on the movements of Gazans were not "proportionate".

It called on the government to persuade the Israelis to improve the supply of water and electricity.

The call comes after Baroness Warsi resigned from the government over what she called its "morally indefensible" stance on Gaza.

Watch: Hammond dismisses calls for 'tougher' stance on Israel

Baroness Warsi has said in an interview that a Government minister has talked to her about resigning in protest over policy toward Israel and Hamas.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, the former Home Office minister added that there was "unease" on the backbenches over the Gaza conflict and said that one "senior Conservative" backencher had been "on the phone in tears".

She said she hoped her resignation would leave "people who feel the same as I do feel prepared to raise those voices within Government".

Baroness Warsi was hailed by David Cameron before the Conservatives came to power, but has now halted her rise through the party's ranks - quitting as Foreign Minister over the Government's policy on Gaza.

ITV News Political Correspondent Emily Morgan reports:

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says he wants to see arms licences to Israel suspended after the country "overstepped the mark" in its attacks on Gaza.

The Liberal Democrats leader said he shared Baroness Warsi's "concerns" over Britain's relations with Israel and said such licences should be halted pending an existing review of whether they should be revoked more permanently in future.