Seven Labour parliamentarians have today signed a cross-party letter to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urging the UK government to give “urgent, meaningful support to peacebuilding projects that can bring together Israelis and Palestinians, most especially the youngest citizens.”
The letter continues: “There has been a failure by the international community to properly invest in long-term, stable peacebuilding initiatives aimed at building meaningful relationships between Jews and Arabs within Israel, and Israelis and Palestinians, founded on trust and shared values. Championed by the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) and inspired by Anglo- American support for peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace is an idea whose time has surely come. The UK showed leadership in being the first country on earth to endorse the concept in 2018, and it now enjoys the sort of cross-party support that is all too rare on this often divisive issue. Critically, the United States Government has made $250m available for these sort of priorities via the bipartisan Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA). Its advisory board recently provided unanimous support for exploring internationalisation of this project, with an opportunity now for the UK to lead alongside its closest ally in the creation of an International Fund.”
Read the full letter below:
