An unconventional joint press conference was held by American President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. The new American administration, the president said, would be “working toward a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States will encourage a peace and, really, a great Read more…
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week approved the construction and planning of 2551 housing units in the West Bank. The decision followed an earlier announcement approving 566 homes beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem. The announcement was met with noticeable silence from the Trump administration when the White House Read more…
Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the American Presidency has worried advocates of a two-state solution across the globe. A number of early proposals and statements have aligned the incoming Republican President with both sceptics and opponents of a two-state deal. Heavy criticism followed Trump’s appointment of bankruptcy lawyer David Freidman as Read more…
Israeli and Palestinian leaders reacted to Trump’s victory with the procedural congratulations offered to an American President-elect. Prime Minister Netanyahu called the Republican ‘a true friend of the State of Israel’, whilst President Rivlin, addressing Trump, said Israel ‘stands by you as your friend and partner’. Isaac Herzog, leader of Read more…
Mahmoud Abbas has been courting controversial company over the past two weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and Hamas leaders Khaled Mashal and Ismail Haniyeh have all recently held meetings with the Fatah and Palestinian Authority (PA) leader. The meetings are unusual Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel have launched our new campaign, ‘For Israel, For Palestine, For Peace’. The campaign aims to persuade the British government to support the creation of an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. The $200m fund has been designed by the Alliance for Middle East Peace to boost spending Read more…
Leaders from across the world gathered in Jerusalem today for the funeral of Shimon Peres. Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and Amos Oz all paid tribute to the former Israeli Prime Minister and President. British dignitaries present at the funeral included Prince Charles, David Cameron, Tony Read more…
Russia waded into the dense diplomatic waters of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process this week. Moscow’s intervention came in the form of a proposed meeting between Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The move sought to reignite the dormant peace process by bringing the two leaders Read more…
Palestinian local elections are due to take place in the West Bank and Gaza on October 8th, where ballots will be held in 391 municipalities in the West Bank and 25 municipalities in Gaza. These are, however, no ordinary local elections. In a surprise announcement, Hamas announced they would be Read more…
The Iran nuclear deal was designed to reduce Iran’s nuclear capabilities by increasing the amount of time it would take Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. When the deal was signed, it was believed Iran was only months or weeks away from developing enough nuclear material for a functioning nuclear Read more…
OPINION: All eyes are on Labour to see how it tackles anti-Semitism by Michael Dugher & Rachel Reeves, Labour MPs for Barnsley East &?Leeds West, for the Jewish News. This article is available here. We met in the 1990s through Labour Students. Rachel was 18 and off to study at Read more…
This article was originally published in the Jewish News: http://www.jewishnews.co.uk/opinion-hilary-benn-ive-seen-two-possible-futures-for-the-israelis-and-palestinians/ Last week I visited the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. It was my third trip to a region I first visited more than a decade ago. The aim was simply to hear, to see and to learn more from people Read more…