Joan Ryan Writes to Andy McDonald Over Holocaust Comparison
LFI chair Joan Ryan MP has written to shadow secretary of state for transport, Andy McDonald MP over his Holocaust comparison on Sky News. Click here to read the full letter.
Analysis: Israel’s weekend of terror
Three Israelis were murdered in a weekend of terror attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Adiel Kolman, a 32-year-old father of four, was stabbed to death near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday. Two days earlier, two Israeli soldiers were killed and another two injured following Read more…
Analysis: Trump’s peace plan: the ultimate deal?
President Trump’s long-awaited Middle East plan is close to completion, according to reports in the US media last weekend. The timing of its release is not yet confirmed and details of its contents are highly guarded. However, the president’s enthusiasm for negotiating the “ultimate deal” – a peace agreement which brings an Read more…
Pledge to end Gaza crisis offers a solution, not a soundbite
This op-ed by Joan Ryan first appeared in the JewishNews, click here to read it. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is desperate and deeply concerning. Electricity supplies are highly restricted; water and sewage facilities are under strain; rising unemployment has hit 40 percent, with an estimated six in 10 young Read more…
Analysis: Who could replace Netanyahu?
The formal decision by Israel’s national police chief, Roni Alsheikh, to recommend indicting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a range of corruption charges has many on the left heralding the end of the Likud leader. Opposition leader Avi Gabbay proclaimed “The Netanyahu era is over”. Such pronouncements may be premature. Read more…
Government offers support for International Fund
The government this week said it supported the establishment of an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Asked by LFI parliamentary supporter Luciana Berger at Foreign Office questions to “pledge the UK’s diplomatic support”, Middle East minister Alistair Burt announced: “The UK supports the concept of an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.” Read more…
Analysis: Bibi on the ropes
“He does not have a public or moral mandate to determine such fateful matters for the state of Israel when there is the fear – and I have to say it is real and not without basis – that he will make decisions based on his personal interest in political Read more…
Analysis: Iran and Israel face off over Syria
Despite the shock which accompanied it, there was an inevitability to the confrontation between Israel and Iran which took place over the skies of Syria and northern Israel last weekend. This may, moreover, be simply a harbinger of more – and worse – to come. The events unfolded in Read more…
Analysis: Secret pact between Israel and Egypt against Islamic State
Israel has been covertly launching strikes against Islamic State in Sinai as part of a two-year campaign secretly approved by Egypt, US media revealed last weekend. The airstrikes – carried out by unmarked Israeli warplanes, drones and helicopters – are estimated to be taking place at the rate of Read more…
Analysis: Gabbay sets out his stall for peace
Avi Gabbay’s recent appearance at the Saban Forum – an annual US gathering on Middle East policy – provided his most comprehensive statement on the peace process since becoming leader of the Labor party in July. In his remarks, Gabbay reiterated his support for a two-state solution, said it was time to end Read more…
LFI chair writes to Kate Osamor over BDS statement
LFI chair Joan Ryan has written to the shadow international development secretary, Kate Osamor, asking her to clarify Tweets she made over the weekend supporting the BDS movement. Below the words “BDS movement #freedom #Justice #Equality”, Ms Osamor added a link to the Middle East Institute for Understanding and an explanation Read more…
Analysis: Jerusalem recognition makes peace harder to achieve
Donald Trump announced this week that the United States would be formally recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, upending decades of US policy. In a brief White House address, the American president declared that formal recognition was “a recognition of reality” and the “right thing to do”. He was Read more…