Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Lab)

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My Lords, I strongly support the Private Member’s Bill from the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, on the recognition of the Palestinian state. I draw the House’s attention to my registered interest as a director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding.

For years Palestinians have been looking aghast at British policy and its hesitancy to recognise an independent state of Palestine. I empathise with that view. “If not now, when?”, they ask. How long do Palestinians have to wait? It is sad that we are still having this debate, as recognition should have happened years ago.

Back in 2014, I spoke in the debate in the other place and voted for the recognition of Palestine when it was passed by that House overwhelmingly. I want to challenge some of the arguments made against recognition. We do not have to recognise the state of Palestine with borders. There are plenty of examples where we have recognised states with territorial disputes, and rightly so—not least Israel, a state that has not declared its borders and in fact keeps expanding, but it is absolutely right that we recognise it.

We do not need to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and we will not have to recognise Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital. All of this should be decided in negotiations towards peace. But recognising a state of Palestine, as we recognised the State of Israel, should not be up for negotiation. It is in the gift of the British Government, and it is for the British Government to decide. The British Government have, for decades, since 1980, supported a two-state solution. The Government need to move beyond the slogan of a two-state solution, which I know they wholeheartedly believe in, to a situation of actively bringing this about; otherwise, they risk not being seen as credible on this issue.

Some point out that the Palestinian Authority is weak, and many think that it is corrupt, but recognition is not an endorsement of any Government, nor should it be—it is a recognition of a right of the people. For example, we recognise Iran but do not approve of its regime. The nature of the Palestinian Authority is immaterial to this issue.

Some argue that Israel will react by freezing out contacts with Britain, as it did with Sweden and Ireland, but I would ask whether we should be bullied by another state. We should stand up to bullies on a matter of principle. I believe that, currently, crimes against humanity are being committed in Gaza, where Israel has reimposed a complete blockade on a captive civilian population of some 2.3 million Palestinians. That is a form of collective punishment, and it needs to be called out by our Government.

Britain can and should recognise the state of Palestine and push for European allies to do likewise. Perhaps the French-Saudi Middle East peace conference in June is an opportunity to do this. We can do more; we can get behind the Arab plan as agreed in Cairo. The Arab reconstruction plan included a restatement of the Arab peace plan. It has the backing of all 22 Arab states, plus the support of the organisation of the Islamic conference of nations. That is 56 states in total. In my view, it is the bones of a plan that can bring peace to the Palestinian and Israeli people, which is, I believe, what we all want. Will the Government welcome it?

The Arab plan is for a two-state solution, to which the UK subscribes. The Israeli plan is for a one-state solution in which there is no Palestinian right of self-determination, no Palestinian state and no peace. The British Government need to recognise the state of Palestine, support the Arab plan in Cairo and take a leadership role in moving this situation forward.

Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)

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My Lords, it is an honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann. The idea of a Palestinian state did not enter into public debate for very many years after the early discussions of a Jewish state. The First World War and the pogroms led to the Balfour Declaration being made by a British Minister, which favoured a national home for the Jewish people. It sought to protect the rights of the indigenous non-Jews, as has happened, but no such offer was made to create a Palestinian state. It was, in fact, after the murder of 6 million Jews in Europe and the defeat of Nazism that an offer was made in 1948 in Resolution 181 to effectively have a two-state solution. The Israelis accepted it, but the Arabs rejected it immediately and commenced a war on the fledgling state. Since then, peace processes have come and gone and, in each case, the representative bodies of the Palestinians refused to accept the offer that was made to them.

In 2008, Ehud Olmert offered a deal whereby 95% of the land claimed would be given, including East Jerusalem. An international jurisdiction of the Old City was offered—and, again, rejected by Abbas. Finally, the Arab world became impatient with this approach and the Abraham accords inched closer to many of them recognising Israel. As we know, it was the fear of their allies recognising Israel and seeking a harmonious Middle East—which we all seek—that prompted Hamas to carry out the events of 7 October.

In my work on coexistence—I am chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation in the UK—I have been in dialogue with those living in East Jerusalem. They specifically tell me they do not want to live in a state controlled by people who would carry out such atrocities on innocent people, as has happened, or by those who have rejected viable peace offers in the past.

Frankly, it is hugely insensitive and somewhat naive to bring this Bill to our Parliament at this time, when Israel has only recently received back some of those innocent hostages, who were tortured mentally and physically. They were hung upside-down, put in cages, starved, told lies about their families and ignored by the utterly useless Red Cross. In effect, this Bill wants to reward the perpetrators. Every poll shows that Hamas would be in power if there were elections. Indeed, there were people who rejoiced with glee as they heard of babies being decapitated and killed in front of their parents. Others were burned alive and innocents were raped.

As the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, indicated, the criteria for statehood under international law are clear, and for good reason. Statehood is not simply a prize but a set of responsibilities. The Palestinian Authority falls short of many of those requirements. Most significantly, it falls short of the critical requirement of effective government, both in the West Bank, where its authority is limited and ineffective, and all the more so in the Gaza Strip, which is run, in practice, by the gun-carrying, terrorist organisation Hamas.

This Bill will not help bring democracy to a Government in their 19th year of a four-year term. It will not strengthen law enforcement in a system that continues with its heinous policy of “pay to slay”, financially rewarding terrorists for their atrocities. It will not help replace a school system riddled with indoctrination to violence with one that promotes excellence rather than martyrdom.

Finally, there is a much more basic problem with the Bill, in Clause 2(2). The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is given effect in UK law through the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 and sets out relations between diplomatic missions and receiving states. The convention states that the head of the mission is considered as having taken up his functions in the receiving state when he has presented his credentials. In the UK, uniquely, credentials are presented to the monarch and heads of the mission are accredited to the Court of St James. Do the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, and the Minister seriously advocate that the King receive, at the Court of St James, as this Bill envisages, a person from Hamas, who every person in this world would recognise as a terrorist? This is not the time to consider such a state. Frankly, I find it deeply upsetting that such a Bill can even be raised in our House.

Lord Grocott (Lab)

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My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Gold, suggested rather a long timeline for the date when we might recognise a Palestinian state. As other speakers have observed, 146 out of the 193 UN members now recognise Palestine. The number has been growing relentlessly—I would say inexorably. Until recently, the area of the world where there were relatively few supporters was Europe, but now that is changing. Last year, Norway, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia were added to the signatories, which already included Sweden and Poland. The 40-odd states, including Britain, that have not yet signed look increasingly internationally isolated.

The choice for our Government seems clear: do we remain in that diminishing group of states holding out against recognition and eventually and reluctantly take the plunge, or do we take the lead, recognise Palestinian rights and encourage others to do the same? Recognising Palestine is an essential prerequisite for the two-state solution, which is the holy grail repeatedly given to us by whoever wishes to talk about the Israeli-Palestine situation.

Back in April 2017, the International Relations Committee of this House published a report entitled The Middle East: Time for New Realism. On Israel-Palestine, the committee had this to say:

“On its current trajectory, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is on the verge of moving into a phase where the two-state solution becomes an impossibility and is considered no longer viable by either side. The consequences would be grave for the region”.


If the Israelis and the Palestinians were to conclude that a two-state solution is neither possible nor viable, then please can someone tell me, because no one yet has in this debate, what on earth the solution to this dreadful, blood-soaked, interminable 80 year old conflict is? Does it mean a continuation indefinitely of the pattern that has existed since the establishment of the State of Israel, which is one of recurrent, savage wars, interspersed with fearful, menacing periods of relative peace, punctuated by sporadic violence?

Rejecting the two-state solution means, in practice, the de facto sovereignty of the whole of Israel-Palestine by the Israelis, with the permanent subjugation of millions of Palestinians. The truth is that, however difficult and complicated the establishment of a two-state solution may be, there is, to coin a phrase, no alternative. This is why the Bill before us is so important, because, of course, a two-state solution requires recognition of both the states.

It is no use repeating the mantra that we support the two-state solution but now is not the right time. Now is the right time. Indeed, with the growth of settlements, now is very close to being the last possible time, so surely the UK should join the 146 UN members that have recognised Palestine. Such a move would give dignity and status to what Labour describes in its manifesto as

“the inalienable right of the Palestinian people”.

It is the right thing to do, both morally and politically, and it is in the interests of all the states in the region, including Israel.

I urge the Government not to prevaricate, and not to say that we believe in Palestinian statehood but not just yet. The time has come to do it, and quickly.