Israel and Palestine

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Tuesday 7th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, once again and I congratulate the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, on securing this debate at a very important time. When I heard his reflections on 1962, I thought, “Is it really 30 years since I was not just at university with the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, attending lectures by the noble Lord, Lord Norton, but since I took my first trip to Israel?”

You could say that I travelled there when the state was at the apex of hope. We visited just as the Oslo Accords were becoming public, and I saw as a very young student what leadership and statecraft could do. They nearly found peace with a two-state solution. Thirty years later, when we see escalating violence, 14 fatal attacks, increasing violent rhetoric, and both sides escalating the threat of more violence, perhaps we are now, as the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, suggested, at the nadir of hope for Israel.

Almost every attack is obviously a personal tragedy for the families who have lost loved ones or have seen loved ones injured. They also represent a national tragedy for the State of Israel. I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Polak, who alluded to this. It is a tragedy because, amidst the violence, Israel is potentially entering the most exciting stage in its history. Perhaps that is where we can try to find hope. As a new generation of Arab leaders no longer regards Israel as an enemy, and as those Arab leaders seek partnership and co-operation and mutual support in the economic growth of the region, surely it is the role of leadership and statecraft to nurture that kind of behaviour.

The Abraham Accords, as noble Lords have said, are in their infancy. They are fragile and delicate. That is why the escalating violence is such a threat. Of course Israel is right to stand up to domestic terrorism; every state has to protect its people. Ultimately, however, as a friend of Israel, when I look around and see friends demonstrating for peace—not just in Israel but around the world—we know that statecraft and leadership are the only way we are going to find peace. Does the Minister still believe in a two-state solution? What statecraft and leadership will he show to try to encourage our friends in Israel and Palestine to de-escalate the violence?