Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 June (HL820) and their position that they will “recognise a Palestinian state at a time when it best serves the objective of peace”, what assessment they have made of the case for recognising Palestine as a state now in order to facilitate negotiations between the government of an internationally-recognised state of Palestine and the government of Israel on an agreed border; and whether they will now recognise the state of Palestine.

Any decision to recognise a Palestinian state will rest on an assessment of the prospects for peace, and what best supports progress towards a two-state solution. Bilateral recognition in itself cannot end the occupation. Without a negotiated settlement the occupation and the problems that come with it will continue. The UK priority is working with the parties and other international actors to encourage a durable ceasefire and to urge them to address the drivers of conflict.