THE UK is in talks with France over the recognition of a Palestinian state, David Lammy has confirmed.
The Foreign Secretary is set to meet with representatives from France and Saudi Arabia at a conference in June, where they will discuss a two-state solution.
It is the first time the UK Government has acknowledged that a discussion with France about a recognition process around the conference is under way.
The National previously reported how a Foreign Office minister rejected calls to recognise Palestine in a joint move with France.
Hamish Falconer said on Tuesday that he had informed Palestinian Authority prime minister Mohammad Mustafa that the UK’s “responsibility is for the reality of the situation on the ground” and the “practical viability” of a Palestinian state.
Speaking to the Lords international relations select committee on Wednesday, Lammy said the UK wanted to take the step when it would have an impact on the ground and not at a symbolic moment, adding that he believed some European countries’ recognition of Palestine recently had not had any effect.
When reminded that 160 states had now recognised Palestine, including most recently Spain, Norway and Ireland, Lammy said: “No one has a veto on when the UK recognises that Palestinian state … We have always said that recognition is not an end in of itself and we will prefer recognition as a part of a process to two states.
“President Macron has had a lot to say about that, most recently, alongside the Saudis, and of course we are in discussion with them at this time.”
The Foreign Secretary said that in talks with Qatar last week he had underlined that any long-term solution would require Hamas not to be in government in Gaza and its leadership to leave, probably to a third country.
Lammy told the committee that there had to be a full demilitarisation process similar to the one that occurred after the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland.
But he added: “It is unacceptable for any group of people to have lived with no state for longer than I’ve been alive.”
At the same committee meeting, Lammy said that Israel had established 59 known illegal outposts in the Palestinian West Bank last year – more than eight times its 25-year average.
He added: “That is all undermining the prospects of two states and it's why I announced sanctions on some of that settler behaviour a few months ago.”
The latest speculation about the recognition of a Palestinian state started when French president Emmanuel Macron returned from a trip to Egypt last month and said France would probably recognise a Palestinian state at the June conference. It would be the first recognition of Palestine by a G7 member state.
Macron later clarified that the move would be intended to “trigger a series of other recognitions … including the recognition of Israel by states that do not currently do so”.
Lammy's comments come just two weeks after he met with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar during a secret visit to the UK.
On Wednesday, Lammy told the committee that during the meeting he had been clear to Sa'ar about Israel's obligations to provide aid to Gaza.
