Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Palestinian Authority on its involvement in direct peace talks without preconditions with the Israeli government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK has made clear, in conversations with the Palestinian Authority, that the best way to achieve a two-state solution is through negotiations. However, in order to achieve this, there must be an environment conducive to peace, and that is why we are urging all parties to de-escalate current tensions across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) emphasised the importance of resolving the current tensions when he spoke to President Abbas on 9 October. On 8 October, our Consul General in Jerusalem raised our concerns with President Abbas’ political adviser, Majdi Khaldi; Palestinian chief negotiator and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Sa’eb Erekat; and the Palestinian Chief of Police, Hazem Attallah; as well as with Amal Jadou, Palestinian Assistant Minister for European Affairs, on 21 October.