LFI chair Jon Pearce became the first British MP to travel directly between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on a visit to the region this week.
While in Israel, the Labour MP for High Peak met with Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, opposition leader Yair Lapid, and the leader of the Democrats, Yair Golan, as well as Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel.
He also met with the released British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, and her mother, Mandy, bringing a personal note for Emily from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In meetings with Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, and leader of Labour’s sister party The Democrats, Yair Golan, Jon discussed the importance of centre-left politicians and activists working together to defend Israel’s precious Jewish and democratic identities, as well as to defeat the Netanyahu coalition in next year’s elections.
He also discussed the continuing threat from Iran and its proxies. During the visit, a number of missiles were fired into Israel from Gaza and Yemen, by Hamas and the Houthis respectively, driving Israelis into shelters across the country. Jon discussed the UK government’s new measures against Iran’s regime, including placing the entire country and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on the highest tier of the UK’s new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), as well as LFI’s ongoing calls to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
Jon also held discussions in East Jerusalem with Elias Zananiri, Vice-Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society and former spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority.
At a time of historic distrust between Israelis and Palestinians, Mr Pearce met with peacebuilding activists to discuss LFI’s support for the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and the UK’s commitment to host a global meeting in support of the Fund this year.
In a historic step, Jon also became the first British Member of Parliament to fly directly from Israel to the United Arab Emirates, a route launched following the agreement of the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and the UAE for the first time.
In Abu Dhabi, he met with Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, a member of the UAE Federal National Council and chairman of the Council’s Defense Affairs, Interior & Foreign Affairs Committee, who has been a key figure in the advancement of bilateral relations with Israel, including in 2022 leading the first visit of an Arab parliamentarian to Israel since 1977. Jon and Dr Al Nuaimi discussed the positive benefits generated for the UAE and Israel since the Abraham Accords were agreed, the role that the UK and Arab world can play in bringing an end to the conflict in Gaza, and the opportunities for further Israeli-Arab normalisation elsewhere in the region.
LFI has called for the UK to establish a special envoy for the Abraham Accords, with the status of an ambassador, tasked with encouraging additional countries to normalise relations with Israel and to more deeply embed UK economic and cultural sectors into emerging regional platforms and exchanges.
Jon also visited the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, as well as meeting with British Ambassador to the UAE Edward Hobart and members of the UAE’s growing Jewish community.
Mr Pearce said: “Even at this difficult time, the fact that British parliamentarians can now travel between Israel and the UAE – something that was impossible just five years ago – shows that old barriers can come down and progress towards peace and coexistence is possible. I shall be exploring with both Israelis and the UAE how Britain can help widen and deepen the normalisation process and how we ensure that this supports and enhances the path towards a two-state solution and an end to the tragic conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”
