Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 15th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Yes, absolutely—the hon. Lady is quite right to draw attention to that. Of course, it is good when the security environment improves, but what happened in the Israeli settlement near Nablus at the weekend was absolutely unacceptable. I issued a statement at the time saying:

“The friends and relatives of the family killed in Itamar have my deepest sympathies. This was an act of incomprehensible cruelty and brutality which I utterly condemn.”

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the atrocity at Itamar makes it even harder for Prime Minister Netanyahu to advance the middle east peace process with the Palestinians, and that Members on both sides of the House should utterly condemn such atrocities?

[Mr Hague]

I will go part of the way with my hon. Friend. We should condemn that atrocity across the House, as I think all parties do, but we must not let any of the recent events in the middle east allow us to draw the conclusion that it has become impossibly harder to pursue the middle east peace process. Indeed, the wider turn of events in the middle east recently, as well as such acts of great barbarity, underline the need to get on with the peace process, and to give even greater urgency to the search for a two-state solution. I hope that that lesson is drawn by Israeli and Palestinian leaders from the wider events in Egypt and other nations.