Matthew Offord MP / UK Parliament
Conservative MPs emphasised that direct peace talks were the only way to secure a viable two-state solution during a House of Commons debate this week about unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. The new Minister for the Middle East, Amanda Milling, reiterated the Government’s long-standing view that “a two-state solution is the only way to protect Israel’s Jewish and democratic character and realise Palestinian national aspirations” and that the “resumption of two-way negotiations, with international support, is the best way to get an agreement”.
Emphasising that it would be “premature to put recognition on statehood ahead of a peace process”, CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman (Commons), Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP, said that the outline of a peace deal is well known but the situation is complicated by the division between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. He also spoke of his hope that the “lessons of the Abraham Accords” can be learned, and recalled a recent meeting in the UAE where a senior leader said to him: “We’ve spent 40 years saying exactly the same things about the region, repeating the same things, doing the same things and it achieved nothing. Nothing for our own peoples, nothing for the Palestinians and nothing for the people of Israel as well. There has to be a different approach and the Abraham Accords I believe set out that different approach”.
CFI Officer Matthew Offord MP referenced Amnesty International’s controversial report which has accused Israel of apartheid, asserting: “Senior Israeli Arabs themselves have rejected the apartheid smear, with the leader of the Islamist Ra’am Party Mansour Abbas stating that he ‘would not call it apartheid’ and pointing out that he leads an Israeli-Arab party that is a member of the Israeli coalition government”. He stressed that “Israel is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy, where Arab, Druze and other minorities in Israel are guaranteed equal rights… let us not forget that the Palestinian leadership has rejected all peace proposals and failed to fulfil its commitments of promoting peace and renouncing violent incitement”.
CFI Vice Chairman John Howell MP detailed some of the violence and incitement taught in the school textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority (PA), exclaiming that “land borders can be negotiated, but hatred cannot be unlearned. Until the Palestinian leadership shares a message of peace and reconciliation, including acknowledging the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, peace remains unlikely”. He finished his speech by asking the Middle East Minister “what more can be done to encourage the PA to reschedule last year’s postponed elections?” as PA President Abbas is currently in his 18th year of a 4-year term in office.
Scott Benton MP reiterated comments regarding the greatest setbacks to a successful peace deal: “Israel has shown in the past that it is driven by the policy of land for peace” but “no matter the offer on the table, the Palestinian leadership continue to reject all possible outcomes”. He adds that “the rise of the formidable, Iran-backed Hamas terror group was one of the greatest setbacks to peace”.
The Rt. Hon. Amanda Milling, the newly appointed Middle East Minister, underlined the Governments position on Hamas: “The UK unequivocally condemns Hamas’ inflammatory action and indiscriminate attacks against Israel. We continue to call upon Hamas and other terrorist groups to end their abhorrent rocket attacks such as those seen in May 2021. The Government assesses Hamas in its entirety to be concerned in terrorism. As of November, we proscribed the organisation in full”.
