(Ilford South)
(Lab)
Whether he made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the
full withdrawal of proposals to annex parts of the west bank during
his visit to Israel in August 2020. [905644]
(West Lancashire) (Lab)
Whether he made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the
full withdrawal of proposals to annex parts of the west bank
during his visit to Israel in August 2020. [905646]
(North
Tyneside) (Lab)
Whether he made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the
full withdrawal of proposals to annex parts of the west bank
during his visit to Israel in August 2020. [905651]
(Lichfield) (Con)
What assessment he has made of the effect of normalisation of
relations between the State of Israel and the United Arab
Emirates on regional stability and security; and if he will make
a statement. [905654]
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs and First Secretary of State ()
As I made clear in my statement on 13 August, we welcome both the
suspension of plans to annex parts of the west bank and the
normalisation of relations between the UAE and Israel. The deal
was a historic step forward between two great friends of the
United Kingdom.
A week before the election in Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu
indicated he would move forward with the expansion of the illegal
settlement at Efrat—an additional 3,500 homes. That plan had been
previously frozen for years. It would cut off the north and the
south of the west bank and is particularly problematic. Does the
Foreign Secretary agree that the suspension of annexation plans
should be made permanent and should not be substituted for the
massive settlement expansion such as the 5,000 homes that are
planned in E1 zone, which represent—in my view and that of my
constituents—annexation in all but name?
I agree with the hon. Gentleman that settlements are both
contrary to international law and counterproductive to peace. It
is hugely welcome, first, that Israel has taken the plans off the
table for the foreseeable future, coupled with the UAE deal,
which is a substantial step forward in the wider process of
reconciliation and peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
[V]
I welcome the Israel-UAE deal, which stops the prospect of any
damaging annexation and should bring about normalisation between
the two countries. What steps are the Government taking to
encourage more Arab states to follow the UAE’s lead and to use it
as a catalyst to get lasting negotiated peace between the
Israelis and the Palestinians?
I thank the hon. Lady. She is right and there can hopefully be a
virtuous cycle of these normalisation agreements. I have been in
touch with US authorities, including Jared Kushner when he
visited London and Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, and I
visited Israel on 25 August, where I not only saw Prime Minister
Netanyahu, Alternate Prime Minister Gantz and Foreign Minister
Ashkenazi, but visited the west bank and spoke to President Abbas
and Prime Minister Shtayyeh—all with a view to encouraging
normalisation with the countries of the region and, now that
annexation is at least off the table for the foreseeable future,
encouraging greater dialogue between the Palestinians and the
Israeli Government.
[V]
Will the Secretary of State talk to European colleagues,
particularly the Irish, with a view to taking joint action on
settlement trade and on recognition to ensure the Israeli
Government do not go ahead with their annexation threat in
future?
I thank the hon. Lady. We do talk regularly to our E3 and wider
European colleagues—we consider all the different
permutations—but I think the positive here is that, through
engagement and indeed through this wider process of
normalisation, Israel has pulled back from those plans for
annexation. That does create a window of opportunity not just
with the countries of the region, but with the Palestinians
themselves. My focus and the Prime Minister’s focus is on trying
to use that to catalyse dialogue between the Palestinians and the
Israelis, which is the only route to a two-state solution, which
is the only route to enduring peace.
[V]
Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating the United
States Administration and indeed the US State Department on
helping to broker this deal? I suspect he will not agree with me
when I say that I think it is their pragmatic approach to say
that a two-state deal is not going to happen as long as we have
Hamas and Hezbollah taking the line they do, but what I would ask
my right hon. Friend is: what role does he see for the United
Kingdom in brokering further such peace deals between the United
Kingdom and Arab states?
I thank my hon. Friend. I think he is right about the positivity
of this step. We need some good news in the peace process and in
the middle east, and I think the UAE deal with Israel is very
positive. We are looking to and will certainly be
encouraging—indeed, we have already started to encourage—others
to follow suit, but also to make sure that we can engage with the
Palestinians, at the level of the Palestinian Authority, to try
to galvanise some dialogue between the two principal protagonists
to the dispute.
(Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)
My right hon. Friend knows very well that one of the reasons for
the proximity between the United Arab Emirates and Israel is the
pressure put on both by the Iranian regime, and the work that his
Department has done in holding the Iranian regime to account at
the UN has been hugely impressive. Applying the rule of law and
applying the principles of non-violable international treaty to
international negotiation has been so important. Could he please
tell me that the UK will read the letter of the treaty of United
Nations Security Council resolution 2231, and recognise that any
of the named states has the opportunity to snapback sanctions on
the violating state of Iran? Will he recognise as well that those
international treaties are not for interpretation, but are
actually pretty clearly laid out in black and white?
I thank my hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee. Lawyers
will always have different views on the precise permutations, but
I think the position on snapback in relation to the joint
comprehensive plan of action is tolerably clear. He is absolutely
right also to point to the role that Iran plays not just with its
own activities—those it engages in directly—but working through
Hamas and Hezbollah and other proxies throughout the middle east
as a source of tension and instability. We are working with all
of our allies to try to make sure we limit and hold to account
Iran for those activities.
(Caerphilly) (Lab)
The social and health situation in Gaza is extremely serious,
especially with regard to covid-19, and recently there was a
clash between Israel and Hamas. Fortunately, a ceasefire was
agreed, but a concern is that it is only a matter of time before
another outbreak of violence occurs. How does the Secretary of
State believe that further conflict between Gaza and Israel can
be avoided?
First, we need to see an end to the targeting of civilians and
the firing of improvised explosive devices by Hamas into Israel.
That is unlawful and totally unacceptable. I share the hon.
Gentleman’s concerns on the broader humanitarian situation. When
I visited the west bank on 20 August, I announced £2.7
million-worth of further humanitarian assistance. Now that Israel
has taken annexation off the table, it would make sense, even
irrespective of the broader peace talks, for the Palestinian
Authority to engage with the Israelis on finance and security
co-operation in the west bank and Gaza, including in relation to
being able to receive tax revenues to pay Palestinian public
servants. As a confidence-building measure, given the UAE deal,
that is something the Palestinians could do on their side as
well.
