Palestine

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2014 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Tonge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to recognise the state of Palestine.

[The Senior Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Warsi) (Con)]

My Lords, we continue to judge that a negotiated, two-state agreement remains the only way to resolve the conflict once and for all. That is why we are focused on supporting the parties in finding a way to resume serious dialogue. As my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has said, we reserve the right to recognise a Palestinian state at a moment of our choosing and when it helps best to bring about peace.

[Baroness Tonge (Ind LD)]

I thank the Minister for her reply, but does she recall that in the Queen’s Speech, we were promised foreign policy,

“based on respect for national sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law”?

Should we therefore recognise the state of Palestine immediately to make up for time lost, encourage our European partners to do so too, and suspend the EU-Israel association agreement if Israel does not withdraw from the territories that it has occupied illegally since 1967?

[Baroness Warsi]

My Lords, as we said during the Palestinian upgrade at the UN General Assembly in 2012, ultimately we would like to see a Palestinian state represented through all organs of the United Nations and recognised as a Palestinian state. However, we feel that the best way to reach a solution to these matters is through a negotiated process, and we still believe that Secretary Kerry’s proposal presents an opportunity to engage and to talk.