Israel and Palestine

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Tuesday 7th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, I too thank the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, for getting this debate on to the Order Paper and, in particular, for listing the horrific incidents, on both sides, which set the whole debate in context. I must declare my interest as President of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. I do not need to say that it is unpaid, because obviously it is.

Yesterday, as has been said, was the Jewish festival of Purim, just out by an hour or so today. This is the story of a Hebrew woman in Persia—Esther—who thwarts the genocide of her people. It is stories like this and, more recently, the 800,000 Jews who fled Arab lands, and the horrors of the Holocaust, which are part of the Israel psyche today of “never again”.

Having said that, I want to make it clear that I am, like many Israelis, appalled at the violent attacks by settlers on Palestinians in Hawara. These actions go against Jewish values—and I speak as a Jew—teachings and the founding principles of the State of Israel. It is not all one-sided. There have been significant Israeli casualties of Palestinian terrorism in 2022 and 2023, including the two young Israeli men, referred to by earlier speakers, murdered just before the Hawara riots. Sadly, violence begets violence. The violence has to cease.

The UK Government must make it clear to the Palestinian Authority and the current Israeli Government that we expect an urgent de-escalation, which requires the PA and the Israeli Government to take strong action against any perpetrators of violence. The UK, through the Minister, should offer itself as an unbiased interlocutor for the peace talks. We are still the unbiased interlocutor, which the US is no longer. We should support the establishment of an international fund for peace, as outlined by the Alliance for Middle East Peace, mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Stone.

We must not lose sight of the fact that Israel is a democratic state, for Jew and non- Jew, where there is a free media and plenty—plenty—of internal critics who are against the current Government. Democracy does not always present a desirable outcome, but it does mean that the Government can and should take account of internal criticism, unlike the situation in the West Bank. The President of the Palestinian Authority has not faced an election for many, many years. My feeling, and the feeling in Israel and in the territories, is that President Abbas does not have support on the Palestinian street. If he does not, I have a question for the Minister and the Government. I personally am in favour of the creation of a Palestinian state, but will the Minister say how, in practical terms, the Government could see that happening when one side does not have the support of its people?

My noble friend Lady Janke gave the example of Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper. The important thing to me is that, in Israel, you can have a paper criticising the Government.

The noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, called for hope and for a two-state solution. I join him in that wish.