(Fill in your own joke here...)

Stand-up Ivor Dembina has been invited to perform at the Houses of Parliament, in what is thought to be an historic first.

He is believed to be the first comedian asked to perform a solo show to an audience of MPs and peers in the Palace of Westminster.

Dembina will present his solo show about the Middle East conflict, This Is Not A Subject For Comedy, in Committee Room 5 on March 22.

He was invited by Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews, who last month returned from Gaza, as part of the largest European parliamentary delegation ever to visit the disputed territory.

Dembina says in his show: ‘I’m one of those Jews who believe we should give back the Occupied Territories, but I think we should hang on to New York.’

He has previously performed it in Washington DC, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem.

Marshall-Andrews – an occasional Left-wing rebel who has made several appearances on Have I Got News For You – is a member of both Labour Friends of Palestine, and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Palestine, while supporting Israel’s right to exist.

Published: 25 Feb 2010