Latest News And Analysis
Analysis: Gaza flare-up threatens long-term truce plans
The risk of all-out war between Israel and Hamas appears to have receded today. An uneasy ceasefire brought to an end an intense round of rocket attacks which threatened to blow off course a truce between the two sides which had been months in the making. Some 460 rockets were launched at Israeli cities and[…]
Analysis: Gazans reject Hamas tactics, want deal with Israel
Ordinary Gazans oppose the bloody, Hamas-led weekly border protests and want a ceasefire with Israel, newly released polling shows. The research – carried out among representative samples of approximately 500 randomly selected Gazans during early October by the Bethlehem-based Palestine Centre for Public Opinion and by a Ramallah-based organisation – shows the conflict-weary population of the Gaza Strip[…]
Analysis: PA and Hamas guilty of “systematic” torture, says human rights group
The “machineries of repression” utilised by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to crush their opponents and silence dissenters has been detailed in a shocking new report by Human Rights Watch. A two-year investigation by HRW, Two Authorities, One Way, Zero Dissent, accuses both the PA, which runs the West Bank, and Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, of[…]
Analysis: Has the murder of Khashoggi scuppered Trump’s peace plan?
Rarely has an American administration invested such hope in – or kow-towed so nakedly to – a Middle Eastern state in the manner which Donald Trump’s has done since taking office last January. The president’s entire strategy for the region appears to have been shaped by a belief that Saudi Arabia could help him achieve[…]
Analysis: Is Iran planning European terror campaign?
Iran may be planning to unleash a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Europe, the US media has reported. The fears have been sparked by the arrest of a senior Iranian diplomat, accused of helping to prepare an attack on a rally of dissidents in Paris. The foiled plot, suggested the Washington Post, has led to “growing[…]
Analysis: PA’s terror salaries condemned after Barkan attack
A fatal terror attack that killed two Israeli citizens in the Barkan industrial park in the West Bank has cast a renewed spotlight on the Palestinian Authority’s policy of paying salaries to convicted terrorists. Last Sunday a Palestinian worker at the industrial park killed two of his colleagues. Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, and Ziv Hajbi,[…]
Analysis: Syrian friendly fire incident causes Israel-Russia relationship to sour
The fragile working relationship between Israel and Russia in Syria – which gave Israel freedom of manoeuvre in Syrian skies – has come under severe strain after the downing of a Russian Ilyushin military intelligence plane, killing the 15 servicemen on board. The incident, which occurred in mid-September, saw Syrian air defences accidentally shoot down[…]
Huge turnout for LFI conference reception
Labour Friends of Israel held its biggest ever reception at Labour party conference in Liverpool this week. Over 400 delegates attended a packed event addressed by deputy leader Tom Watson, Israeli Labor MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, Ambassador Mark Regev, and LFI chair Joan Ryan. In a stirring address, Mr Watson declared: “I am genuinely proud of each[…]
Over 50 Labour MPs write to DFID to express concern over Trump coexistence cuts
Following the Trump administration’s decision to end all funding for coexistence projects in Israel-Palestine, over 50 Labour MPs have written to DFID Secretary of State Penny Mordaunt to express their serious concern and to call on the UK to help fill the void. You can view a PDF of the letter here.
Analysis: Trump slashes funding for coexistence projects
The Trump administration is to end US funding to coexistence programmes that bring Israelis and Palestinians together, it has emerged. The US currently provides $10m for the projects – one quarter of the money invested globally in civil society peace and reconciliation work between Israelis and Palestinians. The American move is part of a wider policy[…]
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Our weekly update looking at the Middle East peace process, regional developments, domestic Israeli and Palestinian affairs and primary issues affecting UK policy on Israel
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We work closely with Labour parliamentarians to strengthen relations between Britain and Israel and to promote a vision of coexistence founded on peace and liberal democracy
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