Berger urges government to strengthen ties with Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers
Labour peer spoke during a Lords debate on the dire situation in Gaza
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Labour peer Luciana Berger has urged the government to strengthen ties with Israelis and Palestinian figures “serious about compromises necessary for progress towards peace” saying every poll points to the likely defeat of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the next election.
Speaking during a debate on the current dire situation in Gaza, the former MP described the humanitarian situation in the region as “desperate” and said access to aid must be safe and rapidly expanded for thousands of civilians needing food and medical supplies.
Baroness Berger added: “I was in Israel discussing these issues with Opposition leaders the week before last. They are clear that this war must stop and that the hostages need to come home as a top priority.
“An election will take place in Israel next year and every poll since 7 October points to Netanyahu and his right wing coalition being ejected from office.”
Berger had been in Israel as part of the latest Labour Friends of Israel delegation to visit the Jewish state, and also the West Bank.
She then asked: “What steps is this government taking to strengthen those Israelis and Palestinians serious about the compromises necessary for progress towards peace and the two-state solution we all want to see?”
Responding Foreign Office minister Lord Collins said that while elections for the government of Israel were a matter for its citizens he was “confident the majority of people in Israel want peace”.
He added: “I think that what the most important thing the government can do is work with allies, particularly in the Middle East, to ensure the agenda for the conference on the two state solution is absolutely focused on the means to deliver it and to ensure we create the conditions for Palestinians and for Israel for that two state solution.”
Collins also appeared to confirm that the UK would not pursue a call for the immediate recognition of Palestinian state at a conference in New York later this month, to be attended by Emmanuel Macron, the French president and a co-sponsor of the three-day conference, along with Saudi Arabia.
Speaking in the Lords on Monday, Collins said the UK saw Palestine recognition as “part of a process towards a two state solution” which included a precondition over the security of the state of Israel.
“We don’t see it as the end in itself,” added the minister. “When the time is right to do that, it will be when we can deliver a more secure basis for that solution.”
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