Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon this week called on a return to direct peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, in response to a question from CFI Honorary President Lord Polak CBE.
Lord Ahmad underlined: “I support all negotiated settlements, and we call upon both sides to sit down together and reach an agreement that works for Israel and for the Palestinians”.
Speaking in an online House of Lords question session, Lord Polak said: “At his last speech to the Knesset on 5 October 1995 on the ratification of the Oslo accord, Yitzhak Rabin stated: ‘The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley’. Just one month later, the noble Lord, Lord Campbell, and others signed an Early Day Motion as a tribute to the murdered Prime Minister, describing him as “a man of great courage and vision who led his country … along the path towards peace'”. He added: “The noble Lord was right to do so then and, I guess, would do so again”.
Lord Ahmad praised Rabin’s legacy, stating: “I agree with my noble friend on the vision and the courage of the sadly passed-away Prime Minister Rabin. He brought peace to the region and his vision is what is needed now”.
Lord Polak in his question had called on the Palestinian leadership and other Arab states to return to direct peace talks with Israel.
In a separate answer to Lord Arbuthnot on the question of land swaps, Lord Ahmad emphasised “our long-standing position remains that the United Kingdom believes in a peace negotiation, a settlement between both sides based primarily on the 1967 borders, with agreed land swaps, as would allow understanding of the position on the ground. Our position in that regard has not changed”.
