Mr David Lammy

I associate myself with much that the hon. Gentleman said. It is a source of great regret to me that we have not brought this most horrendous of wars and conflicts to an end. My right hon. Friend the Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, referred to the Israeli Government’s response to the statement signed by 31 countries, which I had not heard because I have been sat in this Chamber. That ignoring of the international community is tarnishing greatly the reputation of Israel. I listed in my statement the action that this Government have taken in the last year, since coming into office. The hon. Gentleman knows that this Government have led much of the multilateral effort, and that sits behind both the leaders’ statement a few weeks ago and the Foreign Secretaries’ statement today. We will continue to press. We continue, of course, to look at what further we may need to do, as he would expect. I wish I could say that if we were to recognise tomorrow, it would bring this war to an end, but I am afraid I am not sure that is the case. What is required now is painstaking diplomacy to get to a ceasefire, and my assessment is that we will not see that ceasefire until the Knesset rises.