The Israeli government’s decision this weekend to deny entry to two of my colleagues, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, was wrong and counterproductive.
Israel restricts entry to those it claims “act against the state and its citizens”. It is understandable that the Jewish state, which has long faced a unique global campaign of demonisation and delegitimisation, takes such steps in extreme cases.
But this wasn’t such a case. Parliamentary delegations, not just to Israel and Palestine but throughout the world, play an important role in helping MPs to understand the facts on the ground and build important relationships. This leads to better debates in parliament and, ultimately, better foreign policy decisions.
Yet Kemi Badenoch has failed to support British parliamentarians in these circumstances. Instead, the Tory leader spoke blandly of Israel’s right to control its borders in an interview with the BBC, which showed a complete lack of judgement. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, and Richard Fuller, a member of Badenoch’s own shadow cabinet, both drew comparisons with the banning of Conservative MPs by China. Badenoch is right that, unlike China, Israel is an ally and a democracy. But that’s precisely why we should expect better from Israel and all our democratic allies.
Sadly, the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is falling far short of the democratic ideals set out in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. His proposed reforms to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court’s authority have led to mass protests on the streets. Those mass protests overlap, and are inseparable from, the protests against the resumption of the conflict in Gaza and a failure to bring home the remaining 59 hostages Hamas has held since 7 October 2023.
I have recently returned from Israel and the United Arab Emirates, meeting with Israelis, Palestinians and Emiratis, and gaining invaluable insights which can only be attained on such delegations.
Israel remains a country in trauma: 7 October 2023 was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust and it sparked a multi-front war sponsored by an anti-Semitic Iranian regime that wants to wipe their country off the face of the Earth. The 59 remaining hostages are on everyone’s minds and photos of them on every street corner in Israel.
There is growing concern among hostage families, shared by much of Israel’s public, that the renewed conflict and freezing of aid transfers not only endangers ordinary Palestinians in Gaza, but also the hostages. More fundamentally, many accuse Netanyahu of continuing the war since this will endanger his fragile far-right coalition and accelerate Israel towards elections he will lose.
Centrist opposition leaders, including Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, and the leader of the Democrats, Yair Golan, argue not only that ending the war will get the hostages home, but that military force alone won’t destroy Hamas.
There is a remarkable overlap between their proposals and those of moderate Arab leaders. They agree Israel should not rule over millions of Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank, and that it should be ready to address the question of Palestinian statehood, as part of a process to broaden regional normalisation with Saudi Arabia, the prime focus.
Yet this is something that Netanyahu, driven by the ideological extremism and narrow interests of his far-right coalition allies, has dismissed. Instead, the government continues to expand West Bank settlements – which endanger both the future viability of a Palestinian state and Israel’s most precious characteristic as a democratic and Jewish state – while entertaining Donald Trump’s bizarre plans for a US-owned “Gaza riviera” – involving the displacement of Palestinians – which Golan rightly describes as “antithetical to Judaism and to Zionism”.
The unpopularity of the current government is not just visible on the streets but measurable in the polls. One recent survey showed 60 per cent of voters wanting Netanyahu to resign and three quarters of the public backing the state inquiry into the 7 October attacks, which the prime minister has long sought to avoid. An election would thus likely produce a broad anti-Netanyahu coalition comparable to that which briefly governed Israel in 2022. Not all its members would sign up to a Palestinian state. But it may bring a measure of stability enabling Israelis to face their choices. When a two-state solution is framed as part of a regional agreement to strengthen alliances against Iran and its axis, polls consistently show it wins support from a majority of Israelis. Even more so if the economic possibilities are clear. These include an India-Middle East-Europe infrastructure corridor running through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. This could also bring transformational economic possibilities for Palestinians – for instance, allowing greater economic cooperation with Israel itself, inward international investment from the Gulf states, and crucial trading infrastructure, such as access to a sea port.
Emiratis are ready to help build this reality, maybe even participate in a plan to bring security and reconstruction to Gaza, if a Palestinian state is in the plans. They decided to normalise relations with Israel in 2020 and have not considered going back. The same Iranian-supplied and Houthi-fired rockets that sent millions into bomb shelters during my trip to Israel, also threaten them.
The UAE is committed to an inclusive Middle East. During my trip, I visited the remarkable Abrahamic Family House – a monumental mosque, church and synagogue built together in Abu Dhabi’s cultural district. It is a model for envisioning shared belonging in the region, showing how faith can create common ground, rather than catalyse conflict.
The UK must do its part to realise this regional vision. The government is right to call for an end to the war and the immediate release of the hostages, as well as recognising that Hamas can play no part in the future governance of Gaza.
We also need to recognise the importance of Britain’s security contribution. I am proud of Labour’s commitment to a coalition policing the Red Sea and our role defending Israel from Iranian missiles. Recent government measures against Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps recognise the threat they pose not only to Israel, but the UK.
British diplomacy across the region has a vital role to play. We must put energy into making tangible what is possible through regional normalisation, particularly for the Israeli public. We must also insist on not simply a strengthened Palestinian Authority, but vital reforms to end corruption and anti-Semitic incitement in the school curriculum.
And we must also fulfil the Prime Minister’s commitment to host an international meeting in support of an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Based on the pivotal International Fund for Ireland – which supported peace-builders in the years before and after the Good Friday Agreement – this could similarly lay the civic society foundations for a lasting end to the conflict.
Taken together these measures can strengthen Israeli moderates opposing Netanyahu’s coalition and bolster all those who are ready to build a better future for the region.
Sadly, however, the Israeli government’s decision to bar my parliamentary colleagues from entering the country meant that they did not have the opportunity to learn more about the shards of hope which, even at this dark moment, remain visible.
[See also: Can the White House stomach this trade war?]
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