Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on its commitments to the Quartet Principles.

I have not specifically discussed the Quartet Principles as a whole with the Palestinian Authority (PA) recently. On the three issues in the principles:

- On recognition of Israel: the Palestinian Liberation Organisation recognised Israel some years ago and successive PA governments have been bound by this.

- On renunciation of violence: the Palestinian leadership renounced violence some time ago as a means of achieving their goals. We consider that the overall track record of President Abbas and the PA shows their genuine commitment to non-violence and a negotiated two-state solution. We raise instances of incitement with both the PA and continue to urge the PA leadership to do all they can to reduce tensions with Israel.

- On adherence to previous diplomatic agreements: we continue to discuss how progress can be made towards peace with both the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships.