Palestinian Territories: Development Support

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Clearly, what has happened in regard to the students is through no fault of those students—it is a very difficult situation. We are talking to our colleagues in the Home Office, and they obviously—and we understand why—want to make sure that all the necessary security clearances are obtained. That is not easy in this context, and we may well in the next few minutes talk about the medical evacuation of children as well. These things need to be done, and they need to be done responsibly. It is absolutely devastating what has happened to the life chances and educational prospects of some of the brightest and most able young people in Gaza, who, as the noble Lord says, should be making a contribution to the future of their country.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, Prime Minister Netanyahu has spoken openly of his vision for a so-called “Greater Israel”: a vision of permanent war, illegal settlement and, presumably, the occupation of other sovereign countries. Do the Government accept the reality that Israel seems determined to make a Palestinian state impossible and will continue to expand, at the expense of Palestinian survival and the prospects for peace in the entire region? What concrete action have the Government taken to make it clear that these outrageous plans are completely unacceptable?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

One of the reasons that the Prime Minister made the statement on recognition at the beginning of the Recess was specifically to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive. Some of the actions that the Government of Israel have taken recently have made that less likely and harder to envisage, so we have taken the decision that, should the situation remain as it is at the UN General Assembly at the end of this month, we will take what I think is the hugely significant step of recognising the state of Palestine.