Thank you Mr President,

I join others in welcoming our briefers this morning, and I thank SRSG Mladenov for his second report on the implementation of resolution 2334 and for all his tireless work.

As each briefer has made clear, the Middle East continues to face an unrelenting human tragedy of multiple conflicts and rising tensions. For many in the region, it’s a tragedy that has gone on for over half a century.

We recognise that the anniversary of the war of 1967 holds great significance for all sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict. For Israelis it marks the anniversary of a war from which Israel emerged victorious, against all the odds. For Palestinians it marks an enduring tragedy of 50 years of occupation; 50 years without self-determination.

Let’s be clear; half a century of Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza is a tragedy for all sides; a tragedy for Palestinians who yearn for independence, and a tragedy for Israelis who yearn for peace and security. And it’s a tragedy that has been exploited, with terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hizballah cynically manipulating the narrative of occupation for their own ends.

Mr President, so many decades of violence, loss, anger and hate only proves that conflicts cannot be managed or contained in perpetuity. So this year we must move towards peace, with the support of the region and the international community, rather than continue towards an uncertain and dangerous future.

Support for a two-state solution is the only way to ensure a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And to make that a reality, it is incumbent on both sides to refrain from any steps that damage the prospects of a two-state solution.

This means the people of Israel living free from the scourge of terrorism and anti-Semitic incitement which gravely undermine the prospects for a two-state solution. We condemn the horrific murder of Hadas Malka, a twenty-three year old Israeli Policewoman last Friday. We condemn the recent discovery of part of a tunnel passing under two UNRWA schools in Gaza. We call on Hamas to renounce violence and dismantle its tunnel network; they cannot be allowed to pose a threat to Israel’s security.

And, Mr President, if the two-state solution is to become a reality, it also must mean Israel refraining from further settlement expansion. Only last week, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary condemned Israel’s latest announcement to build over 3,000 settlement units throughout the West Bank. The number of units planned for construction this year is now at its highest in a quarter of a century. These moves undermine the physical viability of two states for two peoples.

Despite these challenges, the United Kingdom’s longstanding position on the Middle East Peace Process remains clear and unchanged: we support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state; based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees.

But this vision has proved elusive for far too long. The changing regional context and converging Arab and Israeli interests presents a unique opening to develop Arab-Israeli relations and create the conditions for serious Israeli-Palestinian talks to resume. With that in mind, we welcome the Arab League Secretary-General’s reaffirmation of the Arab Peace Initiative here today.

The leadership and engagement that President Trump and his administration have demonstrated in reinvigorating the Middle East Peace Process must have our support. We call on the region, Israelis, and Palestinians to seize the opportunity that this presents and turn 2017 not just into another anniversary of occupation, but a new anniversary of peace.

We cannot afford to fail. As Special Coordinator Mladenov has made clear, there is an urgent need to address the dire and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, with over 65,000 people currently displaced.

The ongoing energy crisis is particularly concerning. Energy supply in Gaza will soon fall to just three hours per day. This is having a serious humanitarian impact, disrupting basic services, including water treatment and essential medical operations. This latest crisis underlines the need for de-escalation, dialogue and a durable agreement between Palestinian actors that results in the Palestinian Authority’s full control over the Gaza Strip.

Before I give up the floor, let me turn briefly to the situation in Lebanon. We welcome the new electoral law ratified by the Lebanese Parliament on the 16th of June. This is an important milestone towards continued governance and stability, which paves the way for new elections.

But we must not forget the importance of ensuring stability flowing across the whole of Lebanon. So we’re concerned at the increased Hizballah rhetoric along Lebanon’s Southern border and we call on both sides to abide by Resolutions 1701 and 1559. Renewed conflict is in neither side’s interest and we call on all actors to take steps to de-escalate tensions.

Thank you.

Following the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower the Government is asking local authorities and other registered providers of social housing to identify whether any panels used in new build or refurbishment are a particular type of cladding made of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM).

The Homes and Communities Agency stands ready to provide support or advice on this testing where required. If you require such support please contact:

responsesupport@hca.gsi.gov.uk

The Department for International Trade has helped GE Aviation win a multi-million dollar contract by guaranteeing a loan through the government’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF).

Worth $18.7 million, the contract sees GE upgrade engines for cargo and charter airline Atlas Air. With the work carried out in GE’s Prestwick workshop in Scotland they will supply and install energy efficient Performance Improvement Program (PIP) kits to 3 engines in the Atlas Air fleet.

This initial contract has led to a second multi-million dollar agreement for UKEF to finance upgrades of 3 more engines in the coming months.

The announcement comes as International Trade Minister, Mark Garnier, attends the Paris Air Show where the Department for International Trade is exhibiting.

International Trade Minister, Mark Garnier, said:

Our civil aerospace industry is world leading and the Department for International Trade is committed to doing all it can to boost exports and support UK businesses in this sector – including through UKEF where this deal will help do just that, as well as protecting jobs in Scotland.

I’m pleased to be flying the flag for the UK at the world’s oldest and largest Air Show. It’s a real opportunity to meet with potential investors and promote the strengths of the UK aerospace industry.

While at the Paris Air Show, Mark Garnier met with a range of businesses and discussed positioning the UK aerospace sector for the next generation of technology driven growth.

The UK leads the way in whole aircraft capability, particularly in:

• wing design and manufacture
• propulsion
• land gear
• major systems
• airline interiors

It is also well placed to provide access to:

• skilled talent
• excellent academia
• research and development
• world-class manufacturing processes
• competitive suppliers

UKEF, Atlas Air and GE may extend the programme, which could see further support worth millions of dollars for the future supply and installation of PIP kits to 33 more of Atlas Air’s engines over the next 4 years.

Last year (2016) the UK aerospace industry generated revenues of £32 billion with £28 billion of production exported.

Highlighting the strengths of this important sector, the Department for International Trade’s investment showcase is in the design of an aircraft cabin. There are 8 windows highlighting some of the international aerospace businesses located in the UK including:

• Boeing
• Thales
• Airbus
• Bombardier
• Rolls-Royce
• GE Aviation

Plato (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) was adopted at the European Space Agency’s Science Programme Committee meeting today (20 June 2017), following its selection in February 2014. That means work to build the science instrument payload can begin and in the coming months industry will be invited to bid to ESA for the contract to supply the spacecraft.

The UK Space Agency is investing £25 million in the development of the novel scientific instruments on board.

Dr Katherine Wright, Head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency, said:

Investment in Plato builds on UK science and engineering strengths in this area and secures us a leading role on this pre-eminent space science mission for the next decade. Plato has the exciting potential to discover Earth-like planets around other stars, which may eventually lead to the detection of extra-terrestrial life.

Planned to launch in 2026, Plato will monitor thousands of relatively bright stars over a large area of the sky, searching for tiny, regular dips in brightness as their planets cross in front of them, temporarily blocking out a small fraction of the starlight.

Astronomers have so far found over 1,000 planets beyond our Solar System (exoplanets), but none as yet has been shown to be truly Earth-like in terms of its size and distance from a Sun similar to our own.

Plato’s innovative design is set to change all that. Its suite of multiple small telescopes and cameras, reminiscent of the compound eye of an insect, will allow it to ‘stare’ at a large number of the nearest and brightest stars, with the aim of discovering Earth-sized planets orbiting Sun-like stars in the ‘habitable zone’ – the distance from the star where liquid water could exist at the surface.

This will allow them to be studied with unprecedented accuracy and assessed for their potential to host life. An important part of this investigation will be to perform an intricate study of the structure and properties of the host stars themselves, providing key complementary information needed for the proper characterisation of rocky Earth-like exoplanet worlds.

UK scientists and engineers in collaboration with the UK Space Agency are leading participants involved in all aspects of the mission. Prof Don Pollacco, of Warwick University, leads the Plato Science Management Consortium. Scientists and engineers at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory are responsible for the design and manufacture of the electronics for the camera system that sits behind the telescopes, and for characterising the camera detectors to optimise their performance.

The detectors are charge-coupled devices (CCDs), produced by the e2v company in Chelmsford under contract to ESA. A team of UK scientists, coordinated by Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, is also developing the Exoplanet Analysis data processing system on the ground.

Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, MHRA chair, honoured in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.