Palestine

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Tonge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, we are aware of the steps that some countries have taken in recognising the state of Palestine. However, we are clear that the only way to achieve a sovereign, viable and contiguous Palestinian state is through negotiations with Israel. Equally, the best way Israel can ensure its peace and security is through negotiations with the Palestinians. We urge both parties to return to talks urgently to reach agreement by September on all final status issues, leading to the creation of a Palestinian state.

[Baroness Tonge]

Does my noble friend agree that recent leaks about the Israel/Palestine negotiations in the past show that Israel has had no intention of making peace and continues to acquire more Palestinian land illegally, particularly in East Jerusalem? Does he also agree that, in order to put the two parties on a more equal footing, we should join the 109 countries, including Brazil, that recognise Palestine as a sovereign state and define its borders internationally as based on the Green Line? If we do not enforce this, does he agree that the two-state solution is dead and that, as a consequence, Israel’s days will be numbered?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, the noble Baroness asks a large number of questions and I will try to answer some of them. The expansion of the settlements across East Jerusalem is illegal under both international and Israeli law, and we deplore that. We recognise the current push for the recognition of a Palestinian state, but such a state needs to be in control of its own territory and to have secure borders. Palestine is still under Israeli occupation and Israel is still the occupying power.

[Lord Wright of Richmond]

My Lords, the reports to which the noble Baroness referred make it abundantly clear that, at the moment, Mr Netanyahu’s Government are not prepared to make any moves on a Middle East peace process in spite of some remarkable compromises apparently made by the Palestinian negotiators. Does the Minister not agree that it is time to recognise publicly that a two-state solution is the only possible remedy for the future of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples? Please may I ask one specific question? There have been press reports that the Government are considering upgrading the status of the Palestinian General Delegation in London to that of a full diplomatic mission. Can the Minister tell us where that now stands and will he do what he can to make it urgent?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, that was also a large number of questions. As the noble Lord will understand, it is not the policy of Her Majesty’s Government to comment on leaked documents. The status of the Palestinian papers is still not entirely clear. It remains the settled policy of this Government, as it was of previous British Governments, that a two-state solution of a viable Palestinian state with secure boundaries is the only way to secure a peaceful solution between the two sides.

On the question of the Palestinian General Delegation in London, we are aware of the steps that some other EU member states have taken to upgrade its status in their capitals to diplomatic missions. The same request has been made to the UK, which we are considering in accordance with our long support for Palestinian stakeholding. No decision has yet been taken.

[Lord Janner of Braunstone]

My Lords, the entire House would wish to see created a Palestinian state living alongside a secure Israel. However, does the Minister agree that any recognition of such a state must accept previous agreements which call for a negotiated settlement? Does he further agree that the unilateral delegations and declarations such as we have witnessed recently from Latin America serve no purpose in advancing the required and vital peace process?

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, none of us should underestimate the seriousness of the current situation in terms of the future of the Middle East peace process. I read in an Israeli newspaper some weeks ago a statement that we have to understand that if the peace process collapses, the war process will start. That is the danger we are now in and it requires active and rapid movement from both sides.

[Baroness Morris of Bolton]

My Lords, I declare an interest as chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council and a trustee of the Disability Partnership, which helps severely disabled children in the West Bank. Does my noble friend agree that, while the talks are going on, the Palestinians are in limbo, without the normal courtesies that we as citizens of this country are able to enjoy? If Israeli citizens—and there are many of them—protest against what is happening in the West Bank, they are treated with courtesy; if the Palestinians protest, they are thrown in prison. What are we doing to monitor some of the more brutal acts of the Israeli army in the West Bank?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, there are allegations and, indeed, proven occasions of brutality on both sides. I do not wish to go into that now but will re-emphasise where we are. Given the expansion of settlements, the achievement of an acceptable two-state solution is increasingly difficult. I noted that Ehud Barak, who is still in the Israeli Government, said nearly two years ago that the Israelis want three things—for Israel to be a Jewish state, to be a democracy and to include all the land between the Mediterranean and the River Jordan. The problem is that they have to choose which two of those three they can have, because all three are not possible.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean]

My Lords, I associate these Benches with everything that the Minister said in his opening Answer. Does he share the widespread dismay at the stagnation of the Middle East peace process? Does he also believe that the current state of turmoil in the Middle East—particularly in Egypt and, to a lesser extent, in Jordan—serves to undermine the peace process and causes intense worry throughout the region about the future of the peace process?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, the current turmoil across a number of middle eastern states clearly has serious implications for both the peace process and Israel’s future security. I reiterate that this Government, as were our predecessors, are strongly committed to the view that a secure Israel, associated with a secure Palestine, is the only answer to the current tensions.