§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they voted in the United Nations General Assembly on the proposal to seek the opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the wall and fence being constructed by Israel on occupied land; and, if they abstained, why. [HL335]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe Government recognises Israel's legitimate security concerns, and deplores the terrorist suicide bombings of Israeli civilians. But, we consider Israel's building of a wall on occupied land to be unlawful, and remain concerned by the route of the barrier. We regret that Israel has not complied with the General Assembly's demand in Resolution ES-10/13 to halt and reverse the construction of the fence, and we continue to urge the Israeli authorities to take action to this effect.
Nevertheless, the British Government, like our EU partners, abstained on Resolution ES-10/14, which called for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of the fence. We believe it inappropriate to take such action without the consent of both parties. Moreover, we do not see that an advisory opinion will change the actual situation on ground. Our priority should be to ensure continued dialogue, implementation of roadmap obligations and immediate action on the ground.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the Cadennabia Declaration by the joint Israeli-Palestinian working group on Jerusalem, concerning the "Jerusalem Barrier". [HL336]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanWe share the concerns of the declaration's authors that the route of the fence in and around Jerusalem worsens the humanitarian situation there. In addition we have said repeatedly that neither side should take unilateral action that could prejudge the status of Jerusalem. We regard the status of Jerusalem as still to be determined in permanent status negotiations between the parties. Pending agreement, we recognisede facto Israeli authority over West Jerusalem, but consider East Jerusalem to be occupied territory. We recognise no sovereignty over the city.
While we recognise Israel's right to take security measures against the threat of terrorism, any fence built should be on the Green Line or in Israeli territory. We regard the building of the fence on Palestinian land as unlawful. We have urged the Israeli Government to reconsider the route of the fence and to take measures to relieve the economic and humanitarian hardships caused by the fence and restrictions on freedom of movement.
5WA
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the most recent occasion on which they discussed with the Government of Israel all of the following issues:
and whether they will ask the United States Government to discuss the above points with Israel. [HL462]
- (a) the removal of settlement outposts from the occupied territories;
- (b) Israeli plans for enlarging existing settlements and creating new roads for them; and
- (c) the precise alignment of the security wall and fence;
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe Government regularly discuss key elements of the Middle East peace process with the Government of Israel, including our concerns over settlement policy and the route of the fence. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to reroute the fence away from Palestinian areas. My right honourable friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have made clear our concerns to the Israeli Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on a number of occasions. Most recently, I raised the question of the route of the fence with the Israeli Minister for National Infrastructure on 29 October.
I also discussed the issue of settlements at that same meeting, and raised our concerns with the Israeli Foreign Minister on 30 September.
There was no specific discussion on the creation of new roads, but our concern over the expansion of settlements forms a part of the regular representations made by our Embassy in Tel Aviv.
The Prime Minister discussed the Middle East peace process with President Bush during the latter's recent visit to London. In a joint statement on 20 November, they called on all parties to fulfil their obligations under the roadmap, and to refrain from steps which would prevent or prejudge the terms of a final settlement.
The Foreign Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and I continue to discuss these issues with the US Administration.