Britain is uniquely placed to give a lead by recognising Palestine now, just as we recognised Israel in 1950. Where we lead, Europe will follow – and there is urgency. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, said in April 2013 that we had two years at most to resolve the conflict. Today’s chronic cycle of violence and violent deterrence will not do that, but will recur if we do nothing. The combination of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank and the closure of Gaza means that time is not on our side if the two neighbourly states we seek are to be realised.