Middle East

Baroness Janke Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

For the Palestinian Authority, it is not a condition of recognition, as the noble Lord knows, but we are working with the Palestinian Authority to bring about the reforms that we think are necessary to enable it to administer a state in the future. We do not claim that it is ready to do that now. However, as I have made clear, the decision around talking about recognising Palestine at the UN General Assembly is around preserving the viability of the two-state solution. People can disagree about whether that was the right or wrong thing to do. We feel that this is not the circumstance in which we wanted to recognise Palestine; we wanted it to be part of a much more positive process and to have included the negotiations that noble Lords have said that they want to see leading towards a lasting settlement. That is not where we are, as we all know. We have taken the decision now, because we felt that unless we did, the prospects of the future state would be further jeopardised —and look at what is happening with E1 too. We have not done this in the circumstances that we would have wished, but I agree with the noble Lord on the need to see further reform of the Palestinian Authority.

[Baroness Janke (LD)]

My Lords, the head of the World Health Organization has said that July was the worst month for cases of acute malnutrition in children in Gaza, affecting nearly 12,000 children under the age of five, all as a result of a manmade famine. In the light of this and the further bombardments of Gaza City, is it not time the UK took firmer action through the maximum licensing of sanctions, including on Netanyahu; ending all exports of arms, including surveillance support; and withdrawing conditions on the recognition of the Palestinian state?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We are only, I think, three weeks away from the UN General Assembly, when the decision on recognition will be communicated. As I have said before, I cannot comment on the designation of future sanctions, but I observe how extraordinary it is to impose sanctions on individual members of the cabinet of a country with which we have such long, close historic ties.