An LFI delegation of Labour parliamentarians visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories as the region marked 600 days since the 7 October attacks which sparked the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The delegation, led by LFI chair Jon Pearce MP, included Labour Members of Parliament Cat Eccles, Kevin McKenna, Peter Prinsley and Mark Sewards, all elected for the first time in 2024. Baroness Luciana Berger, elevated to the House of Lords in March, also joined the delegation. This was LFI’s first delegation of newly elected MPs since last year’s general election, some of whom were visiting Israel and Palestine for the first time.
In Israel, the four-day delegation included time in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and areas in the south of the country devastated by the 7 October attacks. The parliamentarians met with Israeli president Isaac Herzog as well as deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel, where they discussed the status of efforts to secure the release of the 58 remaining hostages, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, ongoing negotiations toward a ceasefire and hostage deal.
The delegation also held meetings with Israel’s Leader of the Opposition, Yair Lapid, as well as with Yair Golan, leader of Labour’s sister party, the Democrats. The parliamentarians were briefed on the opposition’s efforts to secure the release of hostages, reach a lasting peace with the Palestinians through a two-state solution and opposing the Netanyahu coalition government, including changes to the judiciary.
Travelling to Ramallah in the West Bank, the delegation met with representatives of the Palestinian Authority including Ambassador Adel Atieh, Palestinian head of mission on European affairs. The delegation was briefed on the impact of the conflict in Gaza on the PA and Palestinians, the impact of violence carried out by extremist settlers and the need for dialogue toward a lasting peace. They also met with civil society peacebuilding activists working to develop the next generation of Palestinian political leaders, and Palestinian business leaders, who discussed how the UK can work to support Palestinian economic development as a crucial element of laying the foundations for peace.
The delegation travelled to the south of Israel and visited communities devastated by the 7 October attacks, including the site of the Nova music festival as well as Kfar Aza – both near the border with Gaza and where massacres committed by Hamas and other terrorist groups were carried out. At Kfar Aza, the group was also briefed on the military and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, a mere five kilometres away. The delegation marked 600 days since the 7 October attacks attending a protest for a hostage-ceasefire deal and met with released hostage Ohad Ben Ami, as well as families of hostages still being held in Gaza.
The parliamentarians also met with the Red Cross, where they were briefed on the organisation’s humanitarian work in Gaza, including relating to the hostages.
In Jerusalem and Ramallah, the delegation met with civil society and Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding groups working to strengthen constituencies for peace amongst everyday Israelis and Palestinians. Discussions focused on Israeli and Palestinian perspectives on the conflict in Gaza as it reached its 600th day, and what role the UK could play in supporting their work to strengthen moderates and peacebuilders in the region.
LFI chair Jon Pearce MP said: “At a difficult and distressing time for the Middle East region, it’s more important than ever for British Members of Parliament to visit Israel and Palestine to show solidarity and hear directly from people on the ground.
This delegation has been focused on identifying constructive ways the UK can work to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal to end the terrible conflict in Gaza, and to lay the foundations for a more peaceful future for the region via a two-state solution.
We left the region more convinced than ever of the need to secure the release the remaining 58 hostages, massively increase humanitarian aid into Gaza, and see Hamas relinquish control of Gaza.
Similarly clear is the positive role the UK can play in supporting the Arab plan for Gaza’s reconstruction, reform of the Palestinian Authority, regional normalisation between Israel and the Arab world, and people-to-people peacebuilding via an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.”
