Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Hayes Excerpts

Tuesday 14th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the security and human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

11. What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent violence in Israel and Palestine.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

14. Whether his Department is taking steps to support the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Cleverly]

The UK enjoys a strong bilateral relationship with Israel, which allows us to raise issues where we disagree. We have disagreed with settlement expansion, which we have raised directly, and we also disagree with the demolition of Palestinian homes. Our position on that is long standing and consistent. In my most recent conversations with the Israeli Foreign Minister, I raised our concerns about the speculation of settlement building on the E1 territories in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. I am pleased that there has now been a moratorium on such expansions, because to do so would be damaging to the prospects of a sustainable two-state solution.

[Helen Hayes]

In February I visited Masafer Yatta in the south Hebron hills, where the Israeli Government are planning to evict more than 1,000 Palestinians from their homes. That sits alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s election pledge to annex west bank settlements, amounting to 30% of the territory, while Finance Minister Smotrich recently said that the village of Huwara should be “wiped out”. Has the Foreign Secretary raised those matters with his Israeli counterpart, and how does he intend to ensure that the new Israeli Government abide by their obligations under international law?

[James Cleverly]

We raise issues of settlement expansion with the Government of Israel, and I have raised with my Israeli counterpart the need for a careful use of language. I have raised with both my Palestinian and Israeli counterparts the need for all of us to try to find ways of de-escalating the tensions. At this stage, that must rightly be the priority for us all, while we continue to work with the Israeli Government on ensuring that we keep a sustainable two-state solution alive.