UK's sanctions on illegal settlements are in best interests of Israelis and Palestinians – Christine Jardine
The right of Israel to exist must never by doubted, but neither should the right of Palestinians to have their own homeland
It was one of those moments in parliament when you know the speech you are about to hear will have massive implications. The emotion of the moment was only heightened when the new Foreign Secretary began by outlining his own familial connection to the state of Israel. His childhood visits to the grandmother and family there who had survived the Holocaust.
However, he then went on to eviscerate that state’s land grabs and outline sanctions against illegal settlements which so many have called for. It was a stance possibly few others could have taken.
At a point in history when views of and relationships with the state of Israel and the newly recognised Palestine are highly emotive, this was a moment that parliament needed. It was not universally welcomed or supported. When in the history of the Middle East has there ever been unanimity over Israel and Palestine?
Unbearable suffering
But this was a moment when the overwhelming feeling in parliament was almost relief. For too long, every party has struggled with the conflicting challenges of protecting Israeli and Palestinian rights. My inbox bulges with correspondence about the Middle East. Those looking on from afar cannot bear the suffering the news brings them every day.
Thankfully, a century on from the Balfour Declaration about a Jewish homeland, we finally seem to be making progress towards the other half of that promise: the protection of Palestinian rights.
I have visited both Israel and the West Bank several times and each time I am struck by the need to find a just solution. One which will defend the rights of Israelis while ensuring that Palestinians are no longer condemned to national homelessness.
In this country, in parliament in particular, we have long agonised about how we move towards stable Palestinian statehood while protecting Israel’s right to exist. The past three years have been among the most horrific and challenging I can remember in the pursuit of long-term peace in the region.
My argument with settler leader
The horror of the October 7 attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza have been a shameful period in history. But finally, last week it felt like we were taking the right route, and one on which most of us could agree. The right of Israel to exist must never by doubted, but neither should the right of Palestinians to have their own homeland without fear of it being usurped by settlers.
That our government has now acted to impose sanctions against those who would illegally procure Palestinian land for settlements, I believe is in the interests of both communities. It is more than a decade since I got into an argument with a leader of the settler movement during a visit to Israel and the West Bank.
He refused to accept my entreaty that by procuring Palestinian territory, he was making it difficult for Israel’s friends to defend their actions. This week, for the first time, I felt a British government was finally standing up for that second unfulfilled promise of the Balfour declaration to the Palestinian people.
We must now do everything we can to ensure that we use these sanctions to move towards a peaceful future for both peoples. We have a lot of work to do.
Christine Jardine is Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West
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