Balfour Declaration

Debate between Lord Leigh of Hurley and Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Monday 3rd April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, that point is extremely well made. I assure the noble Lord and the House that we are making our best efforts to encourage both sides to come to the table for discussions. When my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, he made just those points. When I had discussions last week in New York with Nikki Haley, who is a member of the President’s Cabinet, I too made those points, and we agreed entirely that it is important that we all work together to get the interested parties to the table to talk, not fire weapons.

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

My Lords, at the 34th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday last week regarding Israel, Her Majesty’s Government expressed regret that neither terrorism nor incitement was a focus of that council’s meeting. Syria’s regime butchers and murders its people on a daily basis, but it is not Syria that is a permanent item on the council’s agenda. Since 2007, it has been only Israel—the one country in the Middle East that protects human rights for women and gays, among others. Therefore, I welcome the Minister’s statement that, if things do not change in the future, Her Majesty’s Government will adopt a policy of voting against all resolutions concerning Israel in the Occupied Territories and Palestine. What steps have been taken to encourage our European partners to adopt the same principled and even-handed statements? I declare my interest.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we are in active discussions with like-minded partners to support the council in addressing the fact that there appears to be a disproportionate focus on Israel in the council, which we believe hardens positions on both sides.

Soma Oil & Gas: SFO Investigation

Debate between Lord Leigh of Hurley and Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Monday 14th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, on the first question, I perhaps did not make it clear enough in my first Answer that this matter is being investigated by the SFO, and investigated as the result of a leaked confidential document. In light of both those circumstances, it is not the practice of any Government to comment on such matters. On the noble Lord’s second question, I understand that the United Nations will discuss these matters again shortly.

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that we should note that all the companies concerned have strenuously denied any allegations of wrongdoing, and that the Question perhaps denies the central tenet of English justice—which is that a person is innocent until proved guilty?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, it is not for me to comment on what others have said. The Government will await the outcome of an investigation before commenting.

Palestine

Debate between Lord Leigh of Hurley and Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Monday 1st June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I always take great care to look at Amnesty’s reports; I admire the work that it does. The position of this Government is clear: torture is wrong and any death penalty, however it occurs and by whomever it is carried out, is wrong. Priorities for the FCO are to ensure that torture is prevented and that the death penalty is abolished throughout the world. I shall continue on that work myself.

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

Does my noble friend the Minister agree that this Question is the same as the Motion to Take Note in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Steel of Aikwood, from a couple of months ago and that, since that time, Hamas has taken no steps to enter into any negotiations and has kept to its principle of refusing to recognise the right of Israel to exist? Does she further agree that the biggest tragedy in the Middle East is that more than 100,000 people have been slaughtered there, 75,000 of them in Syria, and that this deserves our urgent attention?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, the Middle East process also requires our urgent attention and we shall not divert our eyes from that. It is of great regret that Hamas persists in its activity of attacking Israel, most recently in the past week or so by setting off rockets towards Israel. It is clear that there has to be leadership by the Palestinian Authority to return its Administration to Gaza and ensure that there can be steps towards negotiations for a two-state solution.

Israel: Elections

Debate between Lord Leigh of Hurley and Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Wednesday 25th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I am sure these matters will continue to be discussed within the United Nations. In particular, of course, we are still awaiting the opportunity to see what the commission of inquiry into Israel produces in its report. We are disappointed that Israel did not allow the commission access to specific places. As to EU co-operation, currently discussions are going ahead in the EU about what further sanctions might be required if progress on the peace initiative is not made.

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

My Lords, on the subject of UN involvement in the Middle East, does my noble friend share the concerns expressed by the UN political affairs chief, Jeffrey Feltman? He has cited evidence of Hamas testing missiles and attempting to smuggle in materials that could be used for missile production. Does she share my concerns that Hamas might be preparing for another conflict against civilians?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we have assessed that Hamas is seeking to rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network in Gaza, and we are indeed deeply concerned about the reports to which my noble friend has referred of militant groups rearming. Hamas faces a fundamental decision about whether it is prepared to accept the quartet principles and join in with the efforts for peace or whether it will continue to use violence and terror, with all the terrible consequences for the people of Gaza. Hamas needs to make that choice.