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Middle East

My Lords, the pointless recognition of Palestine, which ran counter to international law, has made no difference at all. I note that in the Statement it is taken for granted that east Jerusalem will be part of Palestine. I remind the Government that when Arabs were in control of east Jerusalem—indeed, the whole of Jerusalem—between 1948 and 1967, they wrecked it. There was no Jewish access to holy places. They were deliberately desecrated. The thought of that happening again is really too dreadful. It is about time that the Government came to terms with the possibility of a two-state solution. If 2 million Arabs can live in Israel peacefully, why cannot some Israeli settlers, as they are called, live in Palestine, if it is ever created, without any trouble?