§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the recent visit to the United Kingdom by the Mayor of Bethlehem, Mr. Elias Freij and his meetings with Ministers; and whether he extended a welcome to Mr. Freij personally to participate in a joint Jordanian-Palestinian deputation organised by King Hussein.
§ Mr. LuceMr. Elias Freij, Mayor of Bethlehem, visited the United Kingdom as our guest from 20 to 25 June. We value continuing contacts with leading personalities from the occupied territories. He called on my right hon. and learned Freind and Ion 24 June. We had a useful discussion on the situation in the occupied territories and developments relating to the Arab-Israel dispute. The possibility of Mr. Freij's participation in a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation was not raised.