The Knesset appears on track to dissolve next Tuesday, triggering the fourth round of Israeli elections in a little under two years. Negotiations between Likud and Blue and White – the two largest parties in the country’s “unity government” – to resolve a long-running budget dispute appear to have collapsed. Read more…
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee this week issued a strong warning about Britain’s relationship with Iran. In a report entitled “No Prosperity Without Justice”, the committee suggested that Iran’s malign regional actions challenge the values which underpin British foreign policy. The warning came as Tehran executed dissident Read more…
On Tuesday 15 December, LFI parliamentarians joined members of the UK-Israel Knesset Friendship Group for a special cross-party Zoom event in which candles were lit for the sixth night of Chanukah. Before the candle lighting ceremony, the event heard comments from former Attorney General and former Deputy President of the Read more…
On Wednesday 9 December LFI Chair Steve McCabe MP spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on Government policy on Iran. During the debate Steve McCabe explained that “not only does Iran support terrorist groups and foment unrest across the middle east, but its strategic aim is an arc of influence Read more…
Israel appears to be on the brink of new elections – the fourth round in less than two years – as its centre-left weighs options to prevent Benjamin Netanyahu emerging victorious. Last week, the Knesset passed the first reading of a bill to dissolve itself. Three more votes will be Read more…
Britain, France and Germany this week issued a warning to Iran after Tehran announced plans to install additional, advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges and potentially expand its nuclear programme. The warning came as the country’s supreme court upheld a death sentence on a journalist the regime claims helped fuel unrest on social media Read more…
Hanan Ashrawi, who rose to international fame when she headed the Palestinian delegation to the landmark 1991 Madrid peace talks, has reportedly resigned from the PLO’s Executive Committee. Ashrawi is thought to have quit in protest at the decision of the Palestinian Authority to resume civilian and security coordination with Read more…
Hezbollah’s popularity has dropped sharply in Lebanon – even among its core Shia supporters, a new poll has suggested. The percentage of Shia who say they have a “very positive” opinion of Hezbollah, while still a majority, is almost 20 points lower than it was in late 2017. “This trend Read more…
The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Iran of its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal after the country’s parliament voted to block international inspectors and increase uranium enrichment. The parliamentary vote followed the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the alleged mastermind of Iran’s military nuclear programme, last week. Tehran has Read more…
Labor is to vote to bring down the government of which it is a member in a no-confidence motion that will be debated in the Knesset tomorrow. The fate of Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unity government” – which Labor joined with its centrist Blue and White allies earlier this year – appears Read more…
Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s investigation into antisemitism in the Labour party was “just about as bad as you can get,” Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday. Addressing the Jewish Labour Movement conference, which was partnered by LFI, the Labour leader said his predecessor had Read more…
The Palestinian Authority appears to be engaged in a potentially significant repositioning exercise ahead of Joe Biden’s arrival in the White House. The moves by Ramallah are reviving hopes that, with a new administration in Washington committed to a two-state solution, the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process might be revived. In Read more…