Meeting of the Parliament 21 April 2015
I agree that the best time for peace is now, but recognition of a Palestinian state is dependent on certain conditions being met first and which I will now enunciate. One of them is that, for its part, Palestine must recognise the right of the Jewish state to exist, which at the moment it does not. The immediate focus must continue to be on a negotiated end to the occupation, which is the most effective way for Palestinian aspirations to statehood to be met. That must come as part of a comprehensive peace agreement that delivers an independent Palestine alongside a safe and secure Israel. We are under no illusions about how difficult it looks to achieve that.
However, the UK, with international partners, is continuing to push for progress towards peace, and leads the way in supporting Palestinian state building and measures to address Israel’s security concerns. Making progress towards the two-state solution remains a foreign-policy priority for the UK. In commenting on the result of the recent Israeli general election and the re-election of Mr Netanyahu, the UK again called on the Israeli Government to demonstrate leadership and courage in working with the international community to secure the peace that is so strongly in the interests both of Israelis and of Palestinians.
We recognise the severe suffering of the inhabitants of Gaza. The UK Government is one of the leading donors in supporting the much-needed reconstruction efforts in Gaza; indeed, we will have provided £350 million between 2011 and 2015 to build Palestinian institutions, deliver essential services and relieve the humanitarian situation. We share the concerns about Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and have said that Israel’s settlement-building makes it hard for its friends to make the case that Israel is committed to peace. The Palestinian Authority must also make progress on governance and security for Palestinians in Gaza as well as the West Bank.
At the same time, the Palestinians must take steps to address Israel’s significant and legitimate security concerns. We should all recognise that Israel has faced an unacceptable barrage of rockets from Hamas and other militant groups, which is unsustainable.
Again, I welcome the debate and look forward to the time when the UK can formally recognise the Palestinian state, which I hope will happen when we have made genuine progress towards peace and towards achieving a just and lasting solution to the long-stated aim of a negotiated two-state solution.
17:21