Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Visit

Statement

My Lords, with the leave of the House, I will now repeat a Statement made in the other place earlier today by Minister Falconer. The Statement is as follows:

“Yesterday, at the invitation of the Government, the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Dr Mohammad Mustafa, visited the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Mustafa was accompanied by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian and Minister of Health Dr Maged Abu Ramadan. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary both held meetings with Prime Minister Mustafa yesterday and I was delighted to meet him again this morning. This visit reflects the UK’s steadfast support for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people at this critical juncture in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

During the visit, we reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to advancing a two-state solution as the only pathway to achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace, dignity and security. We are clear that the Palestinian people have an inalienable right of self-determination, including to independent statehood.

This Government are committed to strengthening our bilateral relations with the Palestinian Authority. The PA is the only legitimate governing entity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and it is important that Gaza and the West Bank are reunified under its authority. The UK is clear that the PA must have a central role in the next phase in Gaza. The UK is also clear that there can be no role for Hamas in the future of Gaza. We have been clear: Hamas must immediately release the hostages and relinquish control of Gaza. Israelis must be able to live in security next to their Palestinian neighbours, and 7 October must never be repeated.

The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister Mustafa signed a landmark memorandum of understanding to enhance the bilateral partnership between our two Governments. The memorandum of understanding established a new framework to guide and enhance the strategic partnership and high-level dialogue across areas of mutual interest and benefit, including economic development and institutional reform.

As part of our meetings with Prime Minister Mustafa, we discussed the gravity of the situation in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem. We condemned the appalling suffering of civilians in Gaza and agreed on the urgent need for a return to a ceasefire in Gaza, with the release of hostages and unblocking of aid. Only diplomacy, not more bloodshed, will achieve long-term peace.

We also shared our alarm at the heightened tension in the West Bank. We reiterated our clear condemnation of Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law and harm the prospect of a future Palestinian state. We called for an end to settlement expansion and settler violence. We are also clear that Israel must release frozen Palestinian Authority funds.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement and I welcome the meeting held yesterday between the Government and Prime Minister Mustafa. We on these Benches are clear that an effective Palestinian Authority is vital for lasting peace and progress towards a two-state solution in the region. The Palestinian people deserve the dignity and stability that statehood can bring, and there should be a negotiated settlement leading, as affirmed by the Minister, to a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

I welcome the efforts made by the Government to continue the work of the previous Government in reaching this outcome. I note the memorandum of understanding signed by the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister Mustafa, which enshrined their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution. Building and maintaining rapport with partners in the Palestinian Authority is essential, but we need to make sure that the recognition of a Palestinian state comes at a time that is most conducive to the peace process. Recognition cannot be the start of the process. Hamas is still being fought in parts of Gaza, and Israeli hostages remain in captivity. Ensuring that Hamas is no longer in charge of Gaza and removing its capacity to launch attacks against Israel are essential and unavoidable steps on the road to a lasting peace. Does the Minister agree with this position? Does she see recognition as the culmination of a process rather than its beginning?

In the immediate term, we must prioritise getting the hostages out and getting more aid in. That is crucial for making progress towards a sustainable end to the current conflict. The previous Government produced clear proposals for getting aid into affected areas and put them to the Government of Israel. They included the delivery of aid through Ashdod and Erez, as well as Kerem Shalom and the Jordan land corridor. Israel made a number of significant and welcome commitments on these points, as well as on approving further forms of aid, but fulfilment of those commitments is vital. Will the Minister please update the House on what discussions His Majesty’s Government are having with partners in Israel to ensure that these obligations are met?

My Lords, we too welcome the meeting of the UK Government with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mustafa and his colleagues. We also welcome the memorandum of understanding, and the restatement of commitment to the two-state solution and the involvement of the Palestinian Authority in the future of Gaza, as well as the strategic partnership based on economic development and institutional reform. This is a forward-looking development. It does, however, raise some questions, particularly of commitment. What discussions have the UK Government had with the United States on the centrality of Palestinian involvement in the future of Gaza? In the light of the remarks made by President Trump, it does not look to be a very deliverable proposal.

The atrocities being committed in Gaza on civilians, many of them women and children, together with the systematic destruction of the health system, continue to shock the world. There is no fully functioning hospital in Gaza despite the indiscriminate bombing and shooting of Palestinians and the devastating injuries that result. Can the Minister say whether future progress on the memorandum of understanding may require the UK to stop arming Israel to carry out indiscriminate killing and destruction in Gaza?

What commitment did the UK Government make to Prime Minister Mustafa to do all in their power to end the blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where, after 50 days of blockade, supplies have run out and civilians, including large numbers of children, are starving to death, even though supplies of crucial food and water are readily available over the border. [Interruption.] I hear that I am being heckled from a sedentary position. I believe that this is not in order in this House. We heard reports from the humanitarian agencies in Gaza that there is not even enough water to make formula food for babies, and that babies are dying as well. The noble Lord may shake his head; if he has evidence to the contrary, I would like to see it.

My Lords, I welcome the support that we have had from both Front Benches for the two-state solution, and the support for the meeting that was held.

I have to say that we agree with the Front Bench opposite on the issue of recognition. Our position has been consistent, in that we will recognise Palestine as part of a process at a moment when we judge that it is most conducive to peace. I do not think that is now. It may be, as I was asked, the culmination of a process, or it may come at some point within a process. As noble Lords have said, it would be a significant step. It is something you can do only once, so it is important that you pick the moment to do it, at a time when you will have the greatest impact.

On the blocking of aid, the denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is appalling. Access to aid is an area where our international humanitarian law assessments continue to raise concerns about possible breaches. Blocking goods, supplies and power entering Gaza risks breaching international humanitarian law. It should not be happening, and we are doing everything we can to alleviate the situation. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise these issues with his counterparts, including most recently at a meeting with the Foreign Minister on 15 April. We continue to call publicly and privately on the Government of Israel to abide by their international obligations when it comes to humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.

I was asked about our ministerial engagement with the US. Since hostilities resumed, the Foreign Secretary has spoken to Secretary Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, the Israeli Foreign Minister, the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, the EU high representative and the UN emergency relief co-ordinator, Tom Fletcher. We are using every piece of influence that we can to try to get aid reinstated; we think the humanitarian situation is dire and getting more serious by the day, so we will continue to do that.

My Lords, on 5 and 24 March I asked the Minister to clarify details of the oversight in place to monitor the £41 million of UK taxpayers’ money that we had donated for humanitarian aid to UNRWA. I am still none the wiser. I now note that after this meeting a further £101 million is being given to the Palestinian Authority, a corrupt organisation that supported the 7 October attacks on Israel, that has no control over Hamas or the several terrorist groups on the West Bank, and that has done nothing to call for the release of the 59 hostages—which is a war crime—or the laying down of weapons by Hamas. So when will the Minister provide the House with the information that I have twice requested? How can this Government justify donating a further £101 million to that terrorist-supporting organisation? Finally, where exactly would the proposed Palestinian state be located?

I genuinely do not think the tone of that is at all helpful to what we are all trying to achieve here, which is peace and a two-state solution. Perhaps the noble Baroness is not seeking a two-state solution, I do not know. We do not recognise her characterisation of the Palestinian Authority. I met with them myself last week, and I would encourage her to do that should she wish to educate herself about this.

My Lords—

I am answering the question that the noble Baroness asked. The reason we are donating aid is that children are starving and people are being displaced. Around 90% of the population has been displaced and aid is needed. We encourage Israel to enable that aid to reach the people who need it, and to do that immediately.

My Lords, I welcome the Statement from the Minister and the action of the Government, particularly in signing the memorandum of understanding, which advances the issues that we face every night on our televisions. I associate myself with the comments made by the noble Baroness across the Chamber about the humanitarian issues that are happening as we speak. There is immense human suffering taking place. I welcome the emphasis that the Government have now placed on beginning to tackle that.

My noble friend the Minister has pre-empted a number of the questions I wanted to ask about what we are doing to work internationally to try to lift what is, in effect, a blockade on help and assistance going to the Palestinian people. Therefore, can she give us more information about the £101 million that has been shared with the Palestinian Authority? In stark contrast to the previous contribution, I think it will be welcomed broadly across the country as recognition of the suffering that we are witnessing and of the investment the Palestinian people properly deserve. Can the Minister share with the House in future the progress of that spend and communicate to the Palestinian Authority and Prime Minister Mustafa the support that they have in this Chamber? We recognise the plight of the Palestinian people and that the best way to solve these immense problems, as the Minister said, is shared understanding.

I thank my noble friend for her question, her long-standing interest in this topic and the thoughtful way she goes about raising these issues. We have announced funding recently, but this comes after the money that was announced for the OPTs in 2024-25. This included £41 million for UNRWA, providing vital services to civilians in Gaza.

In answer to the question about why we are providing this support now and to the Palestinian Authority, I invite noble Lords who are concerned about this to consider who it might be that would be leading this work in Gaza if it were not for the people who are currently doing it. They are mostly technocrats who had other roles, who have come back and want to do the right thing by their population. They are deserving of our support. The reason we have had to put additional aid in is, frankly, the absolutely desperate situation that civilians—who have had no role in any of the violence—find themselves in.

My Lords, I welcome the Minister’s Statement and the Government’s announcement of the aid package. Would the Minister agree that most of the Israeli settlers in the West Bank have contributed significantly to the local economy, farming, small businesses and enterprise? However, if you believe in the two-state solution, as the Minister has mentioned on four occasions—my noble friend also mentioned it on four occasions, and I support it strongly—then surely the logic is that these settlers must accept that their future lies certainly as residents, and maybe as citizens, of a Palestinian sovereign state. What representations have HMG made to the Israeli Government on this point?

Our position is that the settlements are illegal under international law and harm prospects of a two-state solution. Settlements do not offer security to either Israel or Palestinians. The settlement expansion and violence that we see has reached record levels. The Israeli Government seized more of the West Bank in 2024 than in the past 20 years, and we think that is completely unacceptable.

Given that Israel’s peace agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan have all been the product of direct negotiations between the relevant parties, does the Minister agree that this model has a proven track record of delivering peace and security in the region, and that unilateral declarations will not resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict?

I am generally not in favour of diplomacy by declaration. I think that the right way to go about this is negotiation, and we encourage all parties who either involve themselves directly or may have influence over the parties who are involved to encourage the reinstatement of the ceasefire and peace and negotiations to proceed, as the noble Lord says.