Britain Palestine Project
Peace with justice, security and equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians
I would like to thank the Council and the Chinese presidency in particular for allowing me to share some thoughts with you today. The events of earlier this month covered in detail by Special Envoy Wennesland are as concerning as they are predictable. To be very clear, Israelis deserve security; Palestinians deserve security. Mr President,…
By Susie Becher in The Times of Israel, published on 29 August 2022 Click here to read this article.
Statement by UK Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East Let me start by welcoming the two-year anniversary of the Abraham Accords this month. The Abraham Accords are a historic milestone that bring us closer to the goal of shared prosperity and peace throughout the region. As…
When: Thursday, August 25, 2022 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT Where: Zoom Webinar Join legal and policy experts to hear how Israel’s measures to terminate the work of six prominent civil society organizations engaged in documenting violations of international law and supporting the International Criminal Court investigation of Israeli officials is harming defense of…
On 12 September a planning committee in the West Bank will consider an application from the Israeli Defence Ministry for a large new settlement project in the E1 area of the West Bank, to the east of Jerusalem. In response representatives of the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church have…
Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared six Palestinian human rights groups terrorist organizations in 2021, however, several European countries claim Israel had failed to prove these allegations. By Hagar Shezaf, Jack Khoury and The Associated Press on Aug 18, 2022 in Haaretz. The Israeli army raided the offices of several prominent Palestinian human rights organizations in…
On Saturday, 25 June, the Balfour Project hosted an online workshop to encourage more schools to teach this subject. Ninety attended, of whom 25 were practising teachers, 18 of them currently teaching the subject. Over a hundred have viewed the recording since. Three history teachers spoke of the challenges and rewards of teaching this topic…
In 1985, Raja Shehadeh’s father Aziz was murdered in a pre-meditated knife attack. The circumstances of the crime are the subject of his Strangers in the House. Today, through his new memoir, Shehadeh sheds a different light on the father-son relationship that still influences him 37 years on. We Could Have Been Friends, My Father And I is…
Sami Saada was expelled from his apartment in Haifa and in an attempt to reclaim the property sent letters to Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. The letters went unanswered, but found their way into a new book. By Sheren Falah Saab, published in Haaretz on 10 Aug 2022. On July 11, 1948, nearly two…
Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council briefing on the situation in Gaza The United Kingdom joins fellow Council Members in welcoming the ceasefire in Gaza announced last night (August 8, 2022). We express our thanks to Egypt, Qatar and the office of UN Special Coordinator, Tor Wennesland, for their mediation efforts. We…
Severe cuts to Britain’s aid budget leave the agency that provides relief to Palestinian refugees struggling to carry out basic services From the i July 31, 2022 Palestinian refugees are facing three-minute doctor consultations and classes of up to 50 children as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) struggles to meet a…
Statement by British Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council open debate on the situation in the Middle East, July 26, 2022 Thank you, President. And, I thank also Deputy Special Coordinator Hastings for her briefing. I’d also like to thank the United States for the update. We were pleased to see President Biden’s…
UN Human Rights Commissioner Miloon Kothari explains why Apartheid is not enough to explain the root causes of the Palestinian crisis. By David Kattenburg, first published on Mondoweiss on 25 July 2022. Joe Biden’s trip to Israel, occupied Palestine and Saudi Arabia has come and gone. Citing “hostilities with Hamas over eleven days in May…
The Balfour Project and CAABU (Council for Arab British Understanding) co-sponsored an event in the House of Commons on 13 July, hosted by David Jones MP (Conservative). Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, spelt out what the UN Agency does to support Palestinian refugees – providing state-like services – and asked MPs to press our Government…
How the Bennett-Lapid Government ruled over the West Bank The presence of left-wing parties in the coalition did little to hinder the ‘change government’ from continuing construction in the West Bank and destroying Palestinian residences By Hagar Shezaf, published in Haaretz In an alternative reality, Har Bracha would be considered a suburb of Nablus, probably…
Caabu is among 16 organisations to have signed onto this statement, calling for an immediate end to the closure of Gaza after 15 years of collective punishment and imposed fragmentation. 20th July 2022 Since June 2007, consecutive Israeli governments have imposed a severe closure regime and blockade on the civilian population of Gaza. This has…
The president’s July visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia picked up where his predecessor’s regional policies left off By Daniel Levy, published on Responsible Statecraft on 12 July 2022 President Biden’s trip to the Middle East is in danger of delivering a moment of self-mockery, taking to a new high the incredulity of the administration’s…
“Gaza is hell on earth for children.” Those are the words of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. This report from Save the Children explains why.In Gaza, as elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the abnormal has become normal, by dint of constant repetition. Nothing about the life of children in Gaza…
Here is a disquieting report by Human Rights Watch and Lawyers for Justice. It examines breaches of Palestinian human rights by Palestinians – those in authority in the West Bank and Gaza. Like all Human Rights Watch reports, it is carefully documented. The British Government does not talk to Hamas, but has a close working…
Anti-Zionism as a Jewish Phenomenon Azmi Bishara General Director and Member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. Dr. Bishara is a researcher and writer with numerous books and publications on political thought, social theory and philosophy, as well as some literary works. He taught philosophy and cultural…
Announcing Britain’s candidacy for a three-year term on the UN’s Human Rights Council in 2020, the then Minister of State for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, rightly said that respect for human rights sits at the heart of the international system. He declared that our Government fully supports the Council and the tools and…
By Bambos Charalambous, Shadow Minister for the Middle East When it comes to the question of achieving peace in the Middle East, Labour is clear: in government, we would immediately recognise the state of Palestine. We want to see a two-state solution, with a sovereign and secure Palestine and Israel existing in peace alongside one…
By Sir Vincent Fean, Balfour Project Vice-Chair I was invited on 5 June to contribute virtually to a conference in Palestine to mark the 55th anniversary of the Six- Day War of 1967, leading to the occupation by Israel of Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank. The other speaker from abroad…
UK Government at UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East (delivered on May 26, 2022) Sadly, the world’s attention has been drawn repeatedly to the fragile situation in the Middle East this month. We started with an appalling terror attack on…
Holy Land Coordination 2022 Final Communiqué ‘If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand wither’Psalm 137:5 Recalling the Balfour Project statement: “Israel/Palestine: Equal Rights for lasting Peace” at our 2020 conference “Jerusalem: from past divisions to a shared future?”, we publish below the 26 May statement from Jerusalem by visiting Roman Catholic Bishops of…
Click here to watch recordings of our conference
Dear [MP Name], I write to express my deep concern over the impending eviction and demolition of Masafer Yatta, a Palestinian community in the West Bank. On March 15th, Israel’s Supreme Court held a hearing to determine the future of eight of the twenty villages that make up Masafer Yatta. The Court has now ruled…
Opinion: from the Israeli daily Haaretz It is one of the most enduring myths surrounding the 1948 war: The epic battle between a fearsome Arab Goliath and a new-born Israel to liberate Palestine. And it’s a fable that continues to inflict harm today. By Serai Assi May. 3, 2022 As Palestinians mark the 74th anniversary…
Statement by British Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East The UK shares the concerns expressed around this [Security Council] table about the fragile situation in Jerusalem. It is crucial that all parties take urgent steps to reduce tensions, and avoid further escalation. Jerusalem is a…
By Sara Husseini and Mazen Masri, from Middle East Eye Without conditionality on human rights or a mechanism for accountability, how can an enhanced trading relationship be understood by Israel as anything other than support for its violations and war crimes? The UK’s Department for International Trade is currently considering public submissions ahead of negotiations…
Published by Ali Abunimah on Electronic Intifada, 2 May 2022. Emmanuel Macron’s war against campaigners for Palestinian rights suffered another big setback on Friday. The Conseil d’Etat, which acts as France’s supreme court ruling on government actions, suspended the president’s order banning two Palestine solidarity groups. The court upheld the right to call for a…
This is the full text of the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Michael Lynk, to the UN Human Rights Council on March 21, 2022. In it, he comes to the conclusion after citing compelling evidence that Israel’s rule over these territories can now be termed…
Statement by British Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council Delivered, March 22, 2022 Let me start by once again reinforcing the need to prevent a return to the violence we witnessed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories last year. We share concerns about the escalating tensions in the West Bank, including East…
Recalling our Balfour Project conference on Jerusalem in October 2020… (You can read the Balfour Project Jerusalem statement here.) The World Council of Churches (WCC) has launched this Easter initiative: “The WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Easter seeks to connect the sacredness of Jerusalem with what is sacred to us as human beings:…
On 1 February Amnesty International published an important report on Israel/Palestine. Here is the link to the text of the report, and here the link to Amnesty’s response to questions. Here is a Haaretz commentary on Israeli Government handling of the report. Our roundup of world comment and reaction begins with a review of the…