Israel and Palestine

House of Lords written question – answered at on 1 October 2007.

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Photo of Lord Blaker Lord Blaker Conservative

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What reports they have on progress made (a) in the dialogue between the Prime Minister of Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; and (b) by the Arab League peace initiative.

Photo of Lord Malloch-Brown Lord Malloch-Brown Minister of State (Africa, Asia and the UN), Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Minister of State (Africa, Asia and the UN)

The Government support the continued dialogue between Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas, which we hope will include meaningful discussions on permanent status issues. Israel has committed to a number of confidence-building measures to the Palestinian Authority. In particular, we welcome the transfer of approximately US$278 million of Palestinian clearance revenues by Israel since July. We continue to call on Israel to release the full amount of arrears. We also welcome Israel's decision to release 255 Palestinian prisoners and their agreement to grant amnesties to 178 Palestinians, mainly from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Continued dialogue between the parties is the best way forward.

The Government also support the League of Arab States' Arab peace initiative. We welcome all efforts towards the normalisation of relations between Israel and the Arab world. In particular, we welcome both the meeting on 4 May between the Quartet and members of the Arab League follow-up committee and the meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit and Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah Al-Khatib in Sharm el-Sheikh on 10 May. We also welcome the significant follow-up visit to Israel by the Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers on 25 July. We continue, to encourage further progress on the Arab peace initiative between the Arab states and Israel. We value the work of the Arab League in promoting a negotiated two-state solution. The international community has a key role to play in moving forward the peace process.

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