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Israel and Palestine: Gaza

My Lords, I welcome the ceasefire with no reservations whatever. Many of us want to put on record our appreciation of the very constructive part played by the Secretary of State and indeed by the Minister of State himself and other members of our Government. Does my noble friend accept that this is only a very fragile ceasefire? As the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, has said so well, getting on with the job of renewing the peace process is urgent. If that peace process is to be meaningful and to have any chance of fulfilment, is it not essential from the outset that those involved are drawn from as wide a spectrum as possible, and that we avoid the mistake—repeatedly made in the past—of limiting negotiations to those with whom it is convenient to negotiate? Is it not essential to be prepared to talk to those with whom it may be very difficult to talk? Meanwhile, does my noble friend agree that there is very little that is more urgent in humanitarian terms than to lift the siege of the Gaza economy?