Israeli-Palestinian Peace: International Fund

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Tuesday 11th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg.

I also thank the hon. Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) for bringing this issue to the Chamber. The Liberal Democrats have long called for a two-state solution to the conflict in the middle east based on the 1967 borders. In the immediate term, the current ceasefire in Gaza must be maintained, and both sides must advance talks on phase 2. That must include the release of all remaining hostages, including the bodies of hostages killed in Hamas captivity, and it must ensure that aid can flood into Gaza to relieve the suffering of Palestinians after 18 months of devastation.

The UK Government must also urgently engage with the Israeli Government to ensure they reopen aid routes and the supply of electricity, in line with Israel’s obligations under international law. Their decision to blockade and stop electricity entering Gaza is wrong, and it will only exacerbate the suffering of the Palestinians in the strip.

Beyond the immediate maintenance and progression of the ceasefire, a just, long-term peace must include the immediate recognition of the state of Palestine. My hon. Friend the Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) has introduced a Bill in each of the last three Sessions calling for the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. My noble Friend Baroness Northover has done the same.

We must also work closely with those Israelis and Palestinians who are advocating for a just peace based on a two-state solution, which would bring security and dignity for all. There is no future for peace in the region unless moderate voices can influence and frame discussions on what a peace settlement looks like. That means addressing the sources of resentment and fear for Israelis and Palestinians, weakening Hamas’s influence in Gaza and the west bank, and responding robustly to illegal and often violent Israeli settler encroachments on Palestinian land. This should include the UK Government legislating to cease trade with illegal settlements in Palestinian territory.

We must also work with the international community to identify future democratic leaders of Palestine, with a view to having swift elections in Palestine as soon as possible in the hope of uniting Gaza and the west bank under one democratically elected vote. That will ensure that there is security, safety and a bright future for the Palestinians. We must invest in peace, including via the international fund for middle east peace, encouraging our friends in the Gulf states to contribute. We must use trade as a tool for peace, ensuring that Palestinians and Israelis both benefit, which is something the Liberal Democrats have supported for many years. We were pleased to hear the Prime Minister express his desire to kick-start an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace, working alongside the Alliance for Middle East Peace.

Over the past decade, there has been a stark absence of diplomatic efforts to address the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In that chasm, civil society organisations have played a vital role in promoting peace, justice and equality. Those organisations are advocates for diplomacy and non-violence within both societies. They educate and mobilise their communities, generate momentum for peace beyond formal political structures, reduce the political risk of new ideas, influence shifting public opinion and contribute directly to political and diplomatic solutions. However, it must be said, the Government’s recent decision to cut the aid budget makes such projects all the more difficult.

The middle east stands at a critical crossroads. Although the fragile ceasefire still holds, destabilising rhetoric and actions threaten efforts towards de-escalation, diplomacy and conflict resolution. No single actor has ever been enough to secure a lasting peace, but the volatile language and policies of the Trump Administration introduce new risks and opportunities for exploitation by extremists.

The UK must work with our allies in Europe, and with regional partners in the middle east, to support the maintenance of the ceasefire, to secure the release of the remaining hostages and to give Gaza the aid its suffering people need. Those are essential preconditions on the path towards a just peace based on a two-state solution along the 1967 borders that ensures security and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Syria

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

As I said in the statement, we have provided £62 million since the fall of Assad, and we will keep such questions under review. There is a pledging conference on Monday where we will be talking to our partners; as my hon. Friend knows, not all the aid will come from the UK, so co-ordination with our partners is a vital component. I expect to be able to say more in the coming days.

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

I have a Syrian family living in my constituency. The wife is from a small village in Tartus and her husband is from Salamiyah, a town in Hama. Both of their families are still there. They are both part of a religious minority, the Ismaili community, and come from a very diverse area that has Alawite, Muslim and Christian villages. The mountainous areas around Tartus are currently being ravaged by extremist Muslim groups, killing whole families. The area near the husband’s family is preparing for an imminent attack. My constituents are terrified for the safety of their families. They are pleading for an urgent intervention from the international community to stop the killings and to protect civilians.

[Mr Falconer]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that moving account. The family in his constituency are representative of Syria, which is a place of many different minorities and communities with a long history of working together. I confirm that I am working with international partners, including the United Nations, to do everything we can to ensure that the violence on the coast stops.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

I believe the UK’s international development spending must be used effectively, with a primary focus on poverty reduction, and we must reverse the ODA cut and get back to 0.7% of GNI, which was probably our proudest achievement as Liberal Democrats in the coalition Government. We must put the United Nations sustainable development goals at the heart of our international development policy, including access to clean water, sanitation, health, education and achieving food security.

However, for now we are where we are, and with our total aid budget likely to be cut to around £9 billion a year, we must strive to get the very best value for our money—not just for the sake of the Exchequer, but for the massive good that British aid can still do in the world if it is not squandered. For example, approximately £4.3 billion is spent on asylum seekers arriving in the UK each year, a large proportion of the overall aid budget, leaving only £4.9 billion for actual aid work overseas. Now that budget has been further depleted to increase defence expenditure, it is vital that we bring down the costs associated with asylum seekers urgently. That could be done in the following way.

Asylum seekers arriving in the UK illegally, in small boats or by other highly dangerous means, need protection. They need support, they need compassion—they are people—but what they do not need is to be put in hotels with no plans for their future. As anyone who has been cooped up in a hotel for more than a few weeks will know, that will cause their mental health to suffer, and their drive and determination to wane. Asylum seekers come here full of hope for a better future for themselves and their families. They want to work. We should give them the chance and the support to do so, instead of leaving them in administrative limbo in hotels around the country, costing the taxpayer billions. If they have the chance to work their way into our society, instead of remaining a burden on the Exchequer and a burden to themselves, it would free up a large part of the remaining aid budget that could be spent on improving lives in the developing world, so that people do not need to risk their lives to come here in the first place.

People come here risking their all and that does not cease once they enter our borders. To protect them from the clutches of human trafficking—[Interruption.] I had better sit down.

Jammu and Kashmir: Human Rights

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) for bringing forward this important debate.

The Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned about the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir. This is not a new conflict; it has been a long and oppressive one. It affects many in the UK, particularly those in communities with strong personal ties to the region. We are concerned by the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers, and we want the UK Government, with the international community, to play an active role in advocating for peace and reconciliation between India and Pakistan in this troubled area, and in recognising the human rights of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. But it is up to the Governments of India and Pakistan to undertake to engage in a peace process that delivers a sustainable, just and lasting settlement. Our Government must play their part to help find the best way forward.

We are profoundly concerned by the Indian Government’s abolition in 2019 of Kashmir’s special status under article 370 of the constitution of India, along with the continuing unrest and human rights abuses. We believe that the UK must use its influence to support UN inspections and engagement in Kashmir. The Liberal Democrats believe in defending human rights and equality across the globe and think that UK foreign policy should promote these values internationally.

The UK must also reverse cuts to official development assistance and ensure that aid focuses on poverty reduction and protecting human rights in places such as Kashmir, where an estimated 655,000 people are living below the poverty line, with about 47% of the population living without adequate sanitation. The UK’s international development spending must be used effectively, with a primary focus on poverty reduction as we reverse the ODA cuts and get back to 0.7% GNI, putting the United Nations sustainable development goals—including access to clean water, sanitation and health and to quality education, and achieving food security—at the heart of our international development policy.

The Kashmir crisis is a long-standing issue that cannot be ignored. The UK Government must use their diplomatic channels to promote peace, hold human rights violators to account and support those affected by the conflict. We stand for a peaceful, just and humanitarian approach to resolving the situation and helping to build a better, more prosperous future for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Gaza and Humanitarian Aid

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

I speak as someone who knew Gaza in the happy times when, as a young university researcher, I went with my Israeli friends from Kibbutz Re’im to meet their Arab friends in Gaza City to drink coffee and trade. We have heard in the debate about the horror and the passion. We have also heard of solutions, a recognition of the state of Palestine and, indeed, the inclusion of the evacuation of wounded children.

War is a horrible thing, and it makes people behave badly, especially when they feel—and, indeed, have been—hurt as the Israelis have been by the events of 7 October last year. There are things that can be done, which we have heard today, including the release of the hostages and the end of the war, but there are also things that must be done in the future to see Palestine’s future assured, such as the closure of the illegal settlements in the west bank and the rebuilding of Gaza itself. For that to happen, trust needs to be built, and for that to be built, our Government need to be talking to not just the leadership but the opposition in Israel. Jaw-jaw is indeed better than war-war.