Jerusalem (Humanitarian Issues)

Jeremy Browne Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Jeremy Browne)]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to respond to this short but important debate. I start by congratulating the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) on securing the debate and on the measured but impassioned way in which he approached the topic.

The humanitarian situation in East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories is an issue that remains a high priority for both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development. This evening, in response to the many points that the hon. Gentleman has raised, I hope to set out the actions that the Government are taking. The Government’s position on the status of Jerusalem is clear. East Jerusalem is an occupied territory. The solution to Jerusalem must be sought as part of a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Any solution should enable Jerusalem to be a shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. Moreover, that solution must allow access for all those for whom Jerusalem means so much, whether they be Jews, Muslims or Christians.

The Government share many of the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about Israeli actions in East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. Those concerns relate to demolitions and evictions; the construction of illegal Israeli settlements; severe difficulties of access to Jerusalem for Palestinians from the west bank, or for those residents of Jerusalem who live beyond the separation barrier; the removal of residency rights from Palestinians; and detentions. I shall address each of those matters in turn.

[Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) (Lab)]

Does the Minister not agree that Israel is doing everything it can to prevent the Palestinian people from developing economically?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Browne]

I will come to that point. This is quite a narrowly prescribed debate, but I note that there will be an opportunity in Westminster Hall at 2.30 tomorrow afternoon to debate Israel and the peace process, so anyone who does not have an opportunity to speak tonight on this rather more narrowly prescribed topic will be able to join me in a few hours’ time to discuss the subject tomorrow when the net will be cast more widely.

[Robert Halfon]

rose—

[Ian Paisley]

rose—

[Mr Browne]

I shall give way first to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon), and then to my newly acquired Friend, the hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley), who is normally on the Benches opposite.

[Robert Halfon]

I am delighted that my hon. Friend the Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) has joined us on these Benches tonight.

Does my hon. Friend the Minister agree that, before 1967, the Jews in East Jerusalem had no rights at all, and were not allowed to visit the holy sites? Does he also agree that Israeli Arabs in Jerusalem have far more rights than many Arabs in Arab countries, in that they elect MPs and live in a democracy?

[Mr Browne]

We want people of all faiths to have the right to practise their faith, but we also want a political arrangement in Jerusalem that will enable a two-state solution to become a reality.

[Ian Paisley]

I thank the Minister for his generosity in giving way. For the avoidance of doubt, will he make it clear that he will not succumb to or support calls for sanctions against Israel and the 6 million people who need to live and work in that country?

[Mr Browne]

Let me come to the subject in hand, and the hon. Gentleman can draw his conclusions. We are not talking about those measures this evening, but I would like to address the points made by the hon. Member for Stockton North.

First, like hon. Members, the Government are concerned about the threatened and actual demolition of Palestinian homes, particularly in the Silwan district of East Jerusalem. According to the United Nations, 515 structures were demolished in East Jerusalem and the west bank in 2011—a 40 % increase compared with 2010. Such demolitions and evictions are causing unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians. They are harmful to the peace process and they are contrary to international humanitarian law in all but the most limited circumstances.

The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), raised the issue of demolitions with the Israeli ambassador on 23 February, and again with the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Dan Meridor, on 19 March. Her Majesty’s ambassador in Tel Aviv and embassy officials have also lobbied the Israelis, at ministerial and municipal level, on this issue. We have received a welcome assurance from the Jerusalem municipality that it has no plans to conduct wide-scale demolitions in Silwan in the immediate future. As hon. Members are aware, evictions and demolitions are also a pressing issue in Area C of the west bank. The United Nations estimated that by the end of 2011 there were more than 3,000 demolition orders outstanding in Area C, including 18 issued to schools. There is also an increasing number of demolition orders against infrastructure projects that have been funded by international co-operation programmes, including those of the European Union.

In East Jerusalem, Palestinians, and indeed international organisations, face severe difficulties in obtaining building permits. On average, only 4% of building permits requested by Palestinians for Area C were approved last year. Together with our European Union partners, we continue to press Israel to address these serious concerns about the planning regime in Area C. More fundamentally, we urge Israel greatly to accelerate the process for transferring authority over Area C to the Palestinian Authority.

Secondly, another significant concern for the British Government, this House and the international community is the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, including in East Jerusalem. The combination of the growing settlements and the separation barrier erected by Israel is increasingly separating East Jerusalem from the west bank, making it increasingly difficult for East Jerusalem to function as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Settlements, including in East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace. They make negotiations more difficult and constitute a growing threat to the feasibility of a two-state solution, a solution supported by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the international community and a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians. Settlement activity has no justification and should cease immediately. We have repeatedly given that message to Israel, including at the most senior levels.

Along with EU colleagues, we are deeply concerned at the agreement recently reached between the Israeli Government to move settlers from the illegal west bank outpost of Migron to a new settlement in the west bank. We note that Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected the Government’s petition to allow settlers to stay until 2015. Had the deal been ratified, it would have set a dangerous precedent, entirely contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Quartet roadmap. Hon. Members will be aware of the statement issued by the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire, on 16 March calling on the Israeli Government to rescind their decision. We will continue to urge the Israeli Government not to pursue their current approach of legalising such illegal outposts.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Does the Minister accept that Israel has demonstrated its ability and determination to remove illegal settlements, for example in Gaza, in exchange for a peaceful resolution and that, therefore, so-called—in some cases—illegal settlements can of course be negotiated away in land in order to have peace with the Palestinians, but what is required is for both sides to sit around the table to determine a peace treaty so that everyone can live in peace and harmony?

[Mr Browne]

We of course wish both sides—if I can put it in those terms—to live in peace in harmony. That is very much the Government’s ambition. For the avoidance of doubt, I should say that the Government do not support sanctions on Israel or any attempts to delegitimise Israel, but we do want Israel to honour the undertakings that I think people across the world expect it to honour with regard to settlements.

[Alex Cunningham]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Browne]

I will give way, because it is the hon. Gentleman, but after that I wish to address more of the points he made in his speech.

[Alex Cunningham]

If nobody is going to place any sanctions on Israel for what it is doing, what can be done to bring a solution? Talk is getting us nowhere.

[Mr Browne]

I want to address some of the hon. Gentleman’s other points and will then get to that point.

The Government will continue to argue for a just outcome for all the people affected by illegal settlement construction and the confiscation of land due to the separation barrier. That includes funding from the Department for International Development to the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide legal support to communities affected by the occupation.

I want to address a couple more issues, because time is short, and then see what more time I have to accommodate the wider points that have subsequently been made. The Government remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement between the west bank and East Jerusalem. The permit system for Palestinians to enter East Jerusalem, whether for work, education, medical treatment or religious worship, is lengthy and complicated. There are heartbreaking stories of sons and daughters unable to obtain permits in time to visit parents dying in hospital or to attend funerals of relatives. Those Palestinians who have regular permits can spend hours queuing every morning at the checkpoints. We have lobbied the Israelis hard on the issue of movement and access, and there have been some improvements on the west bank, but there is still a long way to go.

A related concern is how many Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem face the threat of losing their residency rights in a way that does not apply to Israeli residents. There are families who are forced to live apart, or forced to move to the west bank, because they cannot obtain permits to stay together. There are also concerns about reported moves by the Jerusalem municipality to change unilaterally the boundaries of the city in a way that might deprive thousands of Palestinians of their right to residency of Jerusalem.

The restrictions on movement and access, as well as on building, not only affect individual Palestinian lives but have a very harmful effect on the Palestinian economy. It is estimated that the movement and access restrictions cost the Palestinian economy as much as 85% of its GDP every year.

[Mr Slaughter]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Browne]

Let me come to a key point that I want to make, and then I shall give way if I have time.

Israel needs to show a greater flexibility on the movement of people and exports in order to increase employment and to reduce aid dependency. We did see some welcome flexibility earlier this month when we saw the first exports from Gaza to the west bank since 2007. The Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire, welcomed that in a statement on 9 March, and it is an important step by Israel towards fulfilling its commitment to allow economic development for the 1.6 million people in Gaza. We hope that further transfers of goods to the west bank, including fruit and vegetables, textiles and furniture, will now also be permitted.

But—and this might reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow—I want to add that, on top of everything I have said, having I think made the Government’s position very clear, it would be wrong to give the impression that the Government are concerned only about Israeli action, although Israel has particular obligations under international law as the occupying force.

As the annual Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights and democracy report, to be published next month, will highlight, we also have serious concerns about reports of abuses carried out under Hamas rule in Gaza. Those include arbitrary detention, the mistreatment of detainees and the use of the death penalty. We are also seriously concerned about rocket attacks fired by militant groups in Gaza.

We continue to believe that the way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including in relation to Jerusalem, is through negotiations. Negotiations remain the best way of giving the Palestinian people the state that they need and deserve, and the Israeli people long-term security and peace. If the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Mr Slaughter) wishes to intervene, I just about have time to accommodate him.

[Mr Slaughter]

I thank the Minister for pointing out some truths—I think to Government Members as well. He is going slightly off the subject by talking about the death penalty in Gaza, and perhaps he will also reflect on the 20 Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli air force recently, as they too suffered the death penalty. His Government are not so good, however, on action. They did not support and, therefore, effectively sabotaged in the United Nations Security Council the Palestinian bid for statehood. If the bid goes back to the UN General Assembly in April, will the Government support non-member status?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. It was meant to be a very short intervention, but that was almost a speech. If you need to, you will have to put in for your own Adjournment debate.

[Mr Browne]

As I said, there will be an opportunity in Westminster Hall tomorrow afternoon for a debate three times the length of this one about such matters, but the Government’s position is very clear: we wish to see the two-state solution, which I have just described, and we make our judgments based on what we think is most likely to achieve that outcome.

We continue to urge both sides to demonstrate the political will and leadership necessary to break the current dangerous impasse and to achieve a sustainable solution to the problems highlighted in this evening’s debate.

I am grateful to Members on both sides for fitting so many informed and passionate contributions into the short period that was allotted for our deliberations on the matter.

Question put and agreed to.