LFI today publishes a paper on what needs to be done after the Gaza war to marginalise the enemies of peace.
For Britain, Europe and pragmatic Arab states, the foundational principle – that a negotiated two-state solution offers the only long-term prospect for settling the Israeli Palestinian conflict – must remain clear.
The government should also now start giving attention to supporting a better future for Israelis and Palestinians, including by bolstering the case for moderates in Israel, and marginalising the enemies of peace.
Our latest policy paper outlines five steps that the UK government should take to further these goals:
1) The role of the Palestinian Authority will be vital. Britain needs to work with our allies in Europe and the region to promote immediate, practical steps to breathe new life into the PA. It must also lead a drive by donors to demand the PA abandons the promotion of antisemitism and glorification of terrorism in its schools, and abandons its practice of paying salaries to convicted terrorists. The UK should also consider sanctions targeted against those Palestinians in the West Bank who incite and promote violence.
2) Israeli cooperation will also be important in strengthening the PA. In the short term, Israel should take immediate steps to improve the economic and security situation in the West Bank, as well as clamping down on the violence of extremist settlers and reining in illegal outposts. UK sanctions targeted against violent extremist settlers, coordinated with international partners, should continue.
3) The UK and its partners should play an active role in developing a regional framework for peace to limit the influence of Iran and its allies. In line with its manifesto commitment, the UK government should institute a ban on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as swiftly as possible. It should also underline its commitment to the normalisation process by appointing a special envoy for the Middle East with the status of an ambassador and a remit to work on the expansion of the Abraham Accords.
4) Britain should work with our international partners to convene a Gaza stabilisation and reconstruction summit, to envisage how international actors can help facilitate a transition to an interim governing authority led by Palestinians with international support.
5) Finally, the UK should begin building the civic society foundations for a future peace process by working to establish an International Fund for Israeli Palestinian Peace.