Asked by Lord Polak To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
action they are taking to promote coexistence between Israelis and
Palestinians. Lord Polak (Con) My Lords, I beg leave to ask
the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I
refer the House to my non-financial interests recorded in the
register....Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking
to promote coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
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(Con)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my
name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I refer the House to
my non-financial interests recorded in the register.
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(Con)
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Question.
Ultimately, the only way to achieve coexistence is through
a negotiated two-state solution that ends the occupation
and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. This
is why the UK continues to support renewed peace
negotiations between the parties. The UK is also supporting
work that helps create the necessary environment for a
two-state solution, including by providing up to £3 million
over three years to support coexisting programming.
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I thank my noble friend the Minister for her Answer. I
warmly welcome last week’s announcement of the impending
visit to the region of His Royal Highness the Duke of
Cambridge—a first official royal visit to Israel and a
great way to celebrate its 70th anniversary. I also welcome
the Government’s support for coexistence programmes, which
lay the foundation for peace. For example, Israeli doctors
and nurses at the charity Save a Child’s Heart have
provided life-saving surgery for over 2,000 Palestinian
children at the Wolfson hospital in Holon, which many
Members of your Lordships’ House have visited. Does my
noble friend agree that the Government should support
projects such as this?
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Save a Child’s Heart is clearly doing admirable work. We
recognise that its programmes have been commended by a
number of UK parliamentarians. The UK supports of
coexistence work to foster understanding between
communities on both sides of the conflict to help support
the necessary environment for a just and peaceful two-state
solution.
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(Lab)
My Lords, any bridge-building on our part—I am sorry.
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It is good to see noble Lords so excited about these
things. DfID’s £3 million co-existence programme will
facilitate interaction between youth leaders and religious
communities and strengthen co-operation in the health
sector. This will help Israelis and Palestinians to work
together to achieve tangible improvements in their lives
and build understanding between people. There are currently
no plans to fund Save a Child’s Heart as part of DfID’s
coexistence programme. DfID’s programme will help tackle a
neglected tropical disease with co-operative engagement
from health academics and senior health representatives for
the well-being of both populations. We welcome the
announcement of the forthcoming visit to the region of His
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge.
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(CB)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that two-state solutions
do not have a happy record and simply turn latent ignorance
and prejudice into lasting enmity? We look at the partition
of India into two states, when several million people were
killed immediately and tens of millions were displaced.
Closer to home, we can look at the island of Ireland and
the conflict that has resulted there. Would it not be much
better to look for the commonalities and common aspirations
of the two communities and build on those rather than to
divide a country and then have permanent enmity?
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I thank the noble Lord for his question. He does well to
remind us of historical difficulties, which make it hard to
achieve peace in difficult circumstances. However, we
firmly believe that ultimately, the best way to promote
coexistence is through a just and lasting resolution that
ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis
and Palestinians.
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The
My Lords, the Minister recognises the importance of
coexistence, which has been supported by the status quo
nunc, established at the Sublime Porte by the Sultan in
1852, which has maintained coexistence between the
Christians and the other communities in the Old City of
Jerusalem since that date through times of war and peace.
Following the welcome announcement after the recent crisis
of discussions between the municipality of Jerusalem and
the State of Israel and the heads of churches, will the
Minister comment on how Her Majesty’s Government will
support those discussions to bring about a re-establishment
of the status quo and the continued flourishing of those
churches, with their charitable work for coexistence?
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I thank the most reverend Primate for his question. It is
not our place to comment on internal Israeli and property
matters. However, we have concerns over Israeli legislation
when it is applied to the Occupied Palestinian Territories,
including east Jerusalem. The consul-general in Jerusalem
and embassy in Tel Aviv are following matters closely.
These are complex issues but we will do all we can to help
the situation.
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(LD)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that, while both peoples
need to learn to coexist, coexistence and military occupation
are not easily compatible? Can she reassure the House that no
project will be funded that will in any way normalise
occupation or undermine Britain’s long-standing opposition to
settlements as illegal under international law?
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I thank the noble Baroness for her question. We continue to
press the parties on the need to refrain from actions that
make peace more difficult. Settlement construction is a
significant barrier to achieving this goal, as are terrorism,
incitement to violence and the refusal by some to acknowledge
Israel’s right to exist. The UK’s position is clear, and our
long-standing position on the Middle East peace process is
clear too. We support a negotiated settlement, leading to a
safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and
sovereign Palestinian state, based on 1967 borders with
agreed land swaps, with Jerusalem as the shared capital of
both states, and a just, fair, agreed and realistic
settlement for refugees. This will be difficult but we must
try.
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(Lab)
My Lords, I welcome what the Government have attempted to do
in funding projects, but we should be trying to amplify that
work by working with our allies to ensure that they, too,
make similar funding arrangements, working with the European
Union and, not least, the United States, which has indicated
that it will stop a lot of funding for Palestinians. Just
what are the Government doing to ensure that others join us
in this good work?
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I thank the noble Lord for his question. Our Government will
work with all our allies to make sure that everything we do,
we do together to make the situation better.
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