An Iranian drone which entered Israeli airspace in February was carrying explosives, it was revealed on Friday. The attempted attack – the explosives were sufficient to cause damage, although the precise target remains unknown – represents the first direct attack by the Islamic republic on Israel. It also indicates that Iranian Read more…
Despite the shock which accompanied it, there was an inevitability to the confrontation between Israel and Iran which took place over the skies of Syria and northern Israel last weekend. This may, moreover, be simply a harbinger of more – and worse – to come. The events unfolded in Read more…
The campaign to persuade the government to proscribe Hezbollah in its entirety will continue, LFI chair Joan Ryan has pledged following last week’s debate in parliament. At the end of the three-hour debate secured by Ms Ryan, Home Office minister Ben Wallace rejected calls from across the House to extend Read more…
LFI chair Joan Ryan will tomorrow lead a debate in the House of Commons calling on the government to proscribe Hezbollah in its entirety. The terror group’s military wing has been banned in the UK since 2001, but its so-called political wing is still legal. As Ms Ryan will argue Read more…
The new year political unrest in Iran is not unprecedented. Three times in the last two decades, the Islamic regime has faced mass protests. In July 1999, students took to the streets to demand freedom of speech, while, 10 years later, the Green Movement saw demonstrations against the vote-rigging Read more…
LFI chair Joan Ryan has secured a cross-party parliamentary debate on the proscription of Hezbollah on Thursday 25 January. LFI has long called for the complete proscription of the terrorist group Hezbollah. Currently, the UK only proscribes Hezbollah’s ‘military wing’, but not its ‘political wing’. The UK’s distinction is not Read more…
*** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY *** HMA Mark Regev, Israeli Ambassador, speech to Labour Friends of Israel Annual Lunch 2017 Chief Rabbi, Lords and Ladies, Members of Parliament, Distinguished guests, It is a real pleasure to be back here at Central Hall for LFI’s Annual Lunch. I would like to begin by Read more…
Rt Hon Joan Ryan MP, LFI chair, speech to Labour Friends of Israel Annual Lunch 2017 Chief Rabbi, Ambassador Regev, friends Thank you to all of you for being here today. In particular, I want to thank Sir David Garrard and Isaac Kaye, our long-standing lunch sponsors. I also want to Read more…
Iran is this week on the verge of completing its much-vaunted “arc of influence” – a land bridge connecting Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea and the border with Israel – with the capture of the Syrian border down of al-Bukamal, close to the frontier with Iraq. The Islamic republic’s Read more…
This article first appeared in the JewishNews. An MP who is vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel has pushed the Metropolitan Police to raise concerns about protesters waving Hezbollah flags at the annual Al-Quds Day march in London. Louise Ellman MP met police chiefs and expressed concern that marchers were Read more…
The sudden and dramatic resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister on Saturday graphically demonstrated the grip Iran – through its proxy Hezbollah – holds over the country. Saad Hariri, the son of assassinated prime minister Rafik Hariri, quit with an angry statement which fired a series of broadsides against the Islamic republic and Read more…
During October’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office questions in the House of Commons, LFI chair Joan Ryan MP questioned Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt MP on the threat Hezbollah poses to both Israel and the Middle East. Joan asked “does the Minister agree that Hezbollah poses a serious threat to Israel’s Read more…