§ 2.32 p.m.
§ Lord Chalfontasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary, in 1998, of the end of the British mandate in Palestine.
§ The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)My Lords, there are no current plans. But the Government do not have a policy not to mark the end of the mandate. If there are proposals from my noble friends or elsewhere, we should be pleased to consider them.
§ Lord ChalfontMy Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Would Her Majesty's Government consider it appropriate to commemorate the servicemen and servicewomen who risked, and in some cases lost, their lives during the period of the mandate?
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy Lords, I am not aware of any previous ceremonies to commemorate those who served in Palestine from 1945 168 to 1948, but it is of course important to remember them. As I said, the Government will be interested to hear proposals to commemorate those who served.
§ Lord MolloyMy Lords, does my noble friend agree that the League of Nations' mandate was carried out brilliantly by the British forces for the benefit of the Arab people, and the Palestinian people in particular? An excellent job was done by our forces. Should not we at least commemorate their wonderful endeavours in this House as well as in the country?
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy Lords, I am sure that we all look forward to suggestions from my noble friend and indeed others as to a suitable way in which to commemorate the end of the mandate.
§ Lord BeloffMy Lords, the mandate was a very positive factor in that part of the world and the servicemen and women, both military and civil, who served the mandate over its period certainly deserve commemoration. However, would not the most appropriate step be for Her Majesty's Government to join next year in the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel, remembering that it managed to overcome the hostility of Ernest Bevin, who wished to strangle it at birth?
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy Lords, we enjoy good relations with our friends in Israel and we would wish to mark the anniversary in an appropriate manner.
§ Viscount WaverleyMy Lords, does the Minister support the idea of a meeting of all religious faiths, including divisions of those faiths, to debate the future of Jerusalem, thereby taking the initiative away from the political arena?
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy Lords, we must listen very carefully to the advice that we receive about ways in which to take forward the issue of the status of Jerusalem. Pending agreement, we recognise de factoIsraeli control of West Jerusalem but we consider East Jerusalem to be illegally occupied. We recognise no de jure sovereignty over the city. I am sure that the whole House joins with me in condolence for those who lost their lives in the appalling bomb outrage only a few hours ago in Jerusale.
§ Lord Wyatt of WeefordMy Lords, does the Minister recognise that the great Ernest Bevin did not want to strangle the State of Israel? He made it possible for it to come into being. The allegation made by the noble Lord, Lord Beloff, is absolutely contrary to the truth.
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy Lords, I do not believe that I am in a position to debate with noble Lords an event that happened before my birth. But the UK's responsibilities in the region continued beyond the end of the mandate. It has been important since the end of the mandate to work for a just and lasting peace 169 in the region between Israel and her neighbours. That is the aim towards which Her Majesty's Government are currently working.
§ Lord CheshamMy Lords, will Her Majesty's Government commemorate the 50th anniversary by increasing current levels of UK bilateral assistance to the Palestinian national authority as a measure of goodwill?
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy Lords, I am sure that Her Majesty's Government will look at any sensible suggestions which are brought forward from the noble Lord and his friends about ways in which we might commemorate the passing of the mandate and, indeed, ways in which we might commemorate the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel next year.
§ Lord ChalfontMy Lords, I appreciate the very sympathetic and positive response from the Minister to my Question. Therefore, I do not wish to prolong this discussion unnecessarily. Following up the question from the noble Lord, Lord Beloff, does she agree that commemorating the end of the mandate and celebrating the birth of the State of Israel need not be mutually exclusive? Could not both those events be commemorated?
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy Lords, I hope that nothing that I have said will be interpreted as the opposite of that. Both events are possible. They are not mutually exclusive.