Asked by: Ben Howlett (Conservative - Bath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take a greater role in facilitating a two state solution in Israel.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
My priority remains the achievement of a two-state solution. I will continue to consult with international partners as to the best means to make greater progress, and to encourage the parties to take steps which lead us towards peace. I am extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in recent weeks. This only strengthens my conviction that a negotiated two state solution is of the greatest urgency. We are encouraging both sides to maintain calm and avoid taking actions which could make peace more difficult. I have also been pushing both parties to take steps that improve the situation on the ground and preserve the viability of the two state solution.