Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the prospects for peace between Palestine and Israel.

We are concerned by the lack of progress in the Middle East Peace Process and note the UN Secretary-General’s assessment that the situation on the ground has deteriorated over the last three years. The ongoing violence underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue. We continue to believe the best way to achieve an end to this conflict is through substantive peace talks between the parties, but international action has a role in facilitating progress. We have a regular dialogue with both the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel at all levels. We are encouraging both sides to maintain calm and avoid taking unilateral actions that may make peace more difficult to achieve.