UK Lib Dems pass motion banning trade with Israeli settlements
London (QNN)- The British Liberal Democrats have passed on Monday a motion at the party conference calling for upholding international law by ceasing trade with illegal Israeli settlements and recognizing the state of Palestine.
The motion, the first on Israel/Palestine at Lib Dem conference since 2017 and was submitted by 13 members, reaffirms the party’s call for immediate recognition of the state of Palestine alongside calling on the UK Government to commit further resources to peace.
Such a step came after the absence of “Britain from the world stage” during the latest Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip last May, the Liberal Democrats said.
The motion proposes legislation to ensure that goods and services from illegal settlements in Palestinian territory do not enter the United Kingdom until a negotiated peace settlement is agreed.
The motion also sees party members call for “increased trade links and cooperation with both Palestine” and the occupation state of ‘Israel’.
The motion as passed by the conference also notes the deteriorating human rights situation in “Israel and Palestine as detailed in reports, notably those published by B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch detailing transgressions by the Israeli government.”
The motion further as passed by the conference “regrets the position of the UK Prime Minister when he opposed the ICC investigation into alleged crimes committed in Palestine, noting that the ICC has jurisdiction given that Palestine, like the UK, is a signatory to the Rome Statute.”
Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and the first MP of Palestinian descent, commented on the motion by saying that “after the events of the last few years, the two-state solution, promised to the likes of my family, seems more elusive than ever.”
She added, “That’s why the UK Government urgently needs to adopt a radical new approach to the conflict – as set out in this motion.”
“This is a distinctly Liberal approach which upholds human rights and the rule of law, while using trade and cooperation as the tools for peace which we know they are.”
“That’s why we want to see more trade with Palestine, more trade with Israel, and the introduction of legislation that will see the UK take steps to uphold international law by ceasing trade with the illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory, unless and until a negotiated settlement is reached.”
Moran said that the British Prime Minister “was shamefully absent from the world stage” during the latest Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip last May, adding that “If he truly cares about ‘Global Britain’, he should finally show some awareness of the historic obligations which Britain owes to the region.”
“That starts by recognising the state of Palestine – and adopting the radical new approach as set out in this motion,” she said.
This afternoon, @LibDemConf passed a motion calling for a radical new approach to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
At the heart of our new policy is increased cooperation, using trade as a tool for peace, and upholding international law and human rights.🧵Thread (1/4)
— Layla Moran 🔶 (@LaylaMoran) September 20, 2021
