§ 6. Mr. Grahamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why a payment of £341 was made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Palestine for 1981–82, as listed in the Appropriation Accounts for that year.
§ Mr. HurdWhen the mandate for Palestine terminated in 1948 certain liabilities of the former Palestine Government remained outstanding to be met by Her Majesty's Government.
The payment of £341 listed under subhead "B4: Palestine" in the 1981–82 Appropriation Accounts was for a new artificial leg for Mr. M. A. Issa, who used to work for the former Palestine Government.
§ Mr. GrahamHow does the Foreign Office define the geographical area that is called Palestine?
§ Mr. HurdI was trying to guess what the supplementary question would be. In this case, we are dealing with the area covered by the former Government of Palestine.
§ Mr. MarlowWill my right hon. Friend and the Government do all that they can to bring about a reconstitution of the state of Palestine. if that is what the Palestinian people themselves wish? In particular, will he move towards that by doing all that he can to bring forward the visit of the Arab League delegation to the United Kingdom, and to do so, if necessary, will he drop the condition precedent, whereby the Palestinians must forgo terrorism, when the major source of terrorist attacks in the region has been the state of Israel?
§ Mr. HurdWe hope that the Arab League mission will come here before long. There is a later question on which these wider topics can best be dealt with.