Israel and the
Palestinians: Supporting Peace
(South West Bedfordshire) (Con)
What diplomatic steps he is taking to support peace between
Israel and the Palestinians.
(West
Bromwich East) (Con)
What diplomatic steps he is taking to support peace between
Israel and the Palestinians.
(West Lancashire) (Lab)
What steps his Department is taking to support the creation of
the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
(South East Cornwall) (Con)
What diplomatic steps he is taking to support peace between
Israel and the Palestinians. [R]
The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa ()
The UK is actively encouraging the parties back to dialogue. We
support the decision of the Palestinian Authority and the
Government of Israel to resume co-operation. We are now pushing
for deeper co-operation on health and economic issues, including
the re-establishment of the joint economic committee, to rebuild
trust and move towards a lasting solution. We support the
objectives of the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian
peace and will continue to engage with the Alliance for Middle
East Peace and President Biden’s Administration to identify
further opportunities for collaboration. We are working with
regional partners and the United States Administration to seize
on the positive momentum of normalisation, alongside improving
Israeli-Palestinian co-operation, to advance the prospects of a
two-state solution.
[V]
I am pleased to hear what my right hon. Friend says. Does he
agree, though, that a just and lasting peace must be built on the
rule of law, with severe consequences for systematic breaches
whoever commits them, and that all Palestinians, including those
in East Jerusalem, must have the right to vote on 22 May?
We regularly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under
international law, and we have regular conversations on this
issue. We also encourage the Palestinian leadership to work
towards democratic institutions based on the rule of law, and we
welcome President Abbas’s announcement of dates for elections in
the Occupied Palestinian Territories and will work closely with
the Palestinian Authority to support that. We have called for
elections in East Jerusalem; my right hon. Friend the Foreign
Secretary has done so, and I did so with the Israeli ambassador
in a meeting that we had just yesterday.
Despite assurances that, after countless delays, the EU review of
Palestinian textbooks would be published in March, there is still
no sign of the report. UK taxpayers’ money pays the salaries of
Palestinian teachers who use material inciting violence against
Israel and Jews, making peace harder to achieve. What more will
my right hon. Friend do to ensure that UK aid does not prolong
the conflict?
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I remind the House that
the UK does not fund the textbooks used in Palestinian schools.
We understand that the EU review is in its final stages. We are
not able to comment on the content of that report until it is
released. We regularly engage with the EU at senior level to push
for timely publication, and we regularly liaise with the
Palestinian Authority to try to bring about the improvements that
my hon. Friend has highlighted.
[V]
It is now five months since the US Congress passed a $250 million
Act to create the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian
peace, the largest ever investment in peace building. In
November, our Ministers promised to examine the feasibility of
the UK taking up one of the international seats on the fund’s
board. Will the Minister tell us the results of that assessment
and confirm that the UK will use the G7 summit to step up and
help to lead this exciting new project with the United States?
We always engage positively with any steps that push towards
greater peace and reconciliation between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, and we have engaged with this process. As my right
hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, we are currently going
through a programme of work assessing what we will do with our
overseas development aid, but we will continue to engage with the
Biden Administration, the Israeli Government and the Palestinian
Authority to pursue what has been the long-standing UK goal: a
peaceful, prosperous, meaningful two-state solution.
[V]
I draw attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’
Financial Interests, because I have been to Israel with the
Conservative Friends of Israel.
With the G7 coming to Cornwall, we should underline our
commitment to international institutions and multilateral
co-operation. We welcomed the US middle east partnership for
peace Act in December, but does the Minister agree that it is now
time for the UK to take a board seat on the international fund
for Israeli-Palestinian peace?
I thank my hon. Friend for her question, which I partially
answered in my prior response to the hon. Member for West
Lancashire (). We have no current plans, but we always take a keen
interest in any initiatives that encourage peace and co-operation
between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority, and
indeed, the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. We will
continue to work alongside Governments in the region and the US
Administration in pursuit of that objective.
(Caerphilly) (Lab) [V]
The International Criminal Court has decided to conduct an
investigation into alleged war crimes by Palestinian armed groups
and Israeli forces in the occupied territories. The FCDO has
stated that the UK respects the independence of the ICC. However,
the Prime Minister said that the investigation is a “prejudicial
attack”, so does the Minister believe that the court is
independent or not?
We absolutely respect the independence of the International
Criminal Court. We do expect it to comply with its own mandate.
The UK will remain a strong supporter of the ICC.
