Israel: Arab Israeli and Jewish Israeli Communities Debate
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Lord Leigh of Hurley
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Israel: Arab Israeli and Jewish Israeli Communities
Lord Leigh of Hurley Excerpts(2 days, 7 hours ago)
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Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)
I share the opinion of my noble friend. Over the last eight years, I have been actively engaged, along with many noble Lords across the House, with a number of organisations, not least Tracks of Peace, that promote human, racial and religious tolerance, also focusing on business, education, the environment and health—issues that affect all people in Israel and the Occupied Territories. We are absolutely committed to building that dialogue, despite the horrendous situation in which people now find themselves. I thank my noble friend for her question. She is absolutely right; we should not forget the issues underlying community cohesion.
Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of Jerusalem Foundation in the UK. The Minister will be pleased to hear that British citizens donated $10 million last year to coexistence projects in Jerusalem. I am sure he will agree with me that the fact that Israel, with a 20% Arab population, has not seen violence inside Israel represents success in coexistence and an understanding from the Arab population of what Israel is trying to achieve. Does the Minister agree that it is not clear that the Arab population of east Jerusalem wants a two-state solution, at least not in the near future? Will he ask our consul in east Jerusalem to undertake proper research to understand the views of the citizens of east Jerusalem, so that we can act accordingly?
Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)
I thank the noble lord. He is right that we should support all efforts for community cohesion. We are obviously committed to a two-state solution, where the rights of Palestinians and the State of Israel are well protected. Through that, as I said on previous occasions, we are supporting the Palestinian Authority in the reforms it needs to take to ensure that they can properly represent the people of Palestine. We are absolutely committed to that.