Category Archives: Current Positions

Letter to the Israeli Ambassador from Amnesty International about Anas Abu Srour

To her Excellency the Israeli Ambassador Dear Ambassador, I write on behalf of Westminster and Bayswater Amnesty International Group to express our concern for Anas Abu Srour, 35, has been arrested by the Israeli occupation army on Tuesday, November 28th. Abu … Continue reading

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The Hamas attack and Israel’s War on Gaza: ‘a place where no human being can exist’

By Omer Bartov 24 Nov Like many other people in Israel and across the world, my first reaction to the attack on 7 Oct was of shock and horror. But that initial reaction was accompanied by rage, not only at … Continue reading

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Christian Church leaders worldwide urge Sunak to back ceasefire now

Rt Hon Rishi Sunak Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland No 10 Downing Street, London, SW1P 2AB November 29, 2023 “My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured … Continue reading

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Israel’s war cabinet has learned nothing from its failures

The leaders who oversaw Israel’s Gaza policy for 15 years are incapable of abandoning the erroneous ideas that collapsed on 7 Oct. By Menachem Klein, 26 Oct, 2023 (0riginally published in 972mag.com) In 1991, American neoconservatives — many of whom … Continue reading

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How the Palestinians of Gaza live with Hamas

A personal view by a Palestinian from Gaza who grew up in the era of the resistance group’s rise to power. The author writes: Journalism and its practitioners will always carry an inherent point of view no matter how objective we … Continue reading

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‘We Need a Ceasefire Now!’ Sir Vincent Fean on Deep Dive Palestine Podcast

Mark Seddon: Today British Parliamentarians wrote to PM Rishi Sunak calling for a ceasefire. What did the letter say? Sir Vincent Fean: The letter is signed by around about 120 members of Parliament in both houses: Peers and members of … Continue reading

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Dear President Biden: The Elders’ open letter on Israel and Palestine

Read the open letter on The Elders’ website Download the open letter  

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115 peers and MPs demand UK call for immediate ceasefire

 

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Gaza ceasefire now

 Gaza ceasefire now: Building hope for a better future for Palestinians and Israelis, with equal rights and mutual security A call on the British Government by the Balfour Project This cannot be allowed to continue: the civilian deaths and mass … Continue reading

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Sir Vincent Fean on LBC with Matt Frei 11 Nov 2023

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Some leaders are more concerned about Gaza’s future than ending war now

Sir Vincent Fean, Balfour Project Trustee, on Al Jazeera Inside Story, 9 November 2023   Britain in Palestine 1917-1948 Film Palestinians live moment to moment as Israel’s bombardment continues. Life in Gaza is dominated by fears of Israeli attacks, finding … Continue reading

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War on Gaza

Foreign Secretary’s statement on Israel-Hamas hostage agreement The Foreign Secretary has given a statement following the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas for a coordinated release of hostages and pause in fighting. From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The … Continue reading

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Gaza before the Nakba…and under occupation, siege and invasion

The Palestinian-American lawyer, activist and academic Noura Erekat gave an address entitled “In This Moment” on 1 Nov 2023 to the Palestinian Festival of Literature in New York City. The Balfour Project is running this excerpt of her “address to … Continue reading

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Sir Vincent Fean interview with Al Jazeera English, 2 Nov 2023

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Food, water and fuel deprivation used as collective punishment, says UNRWA chief

UN leaders speak reason in the midst of madness By Andrew Whitley, Balfour Project Chair of Trustees In the midst of so much madness, misrepresentation and moral equivocation, it can be hard to find voices of sanity and reason. One … Continue reading

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Anti-BDS legislation

Paliamentary questions and statements will be added here soon.

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One on One: Britain, Palestine and a history of broken promises

Video published by The Middle East Eye on 25 September 2023. The United Kingdom played a pivotal role in the dispossession of the Palestinian people and the Zionist takeover of historical Palestine, says Middle Eastern historian Peter Shambrook. Speaking with … Continue reading

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The DOP, Oslo and 1993+: Archetype of a Failure

By Daniel Levy, 13 Sept 2023 September 13, 2023, marks the 30-year anniversary of the signing of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles (DOP) on the White House South Lawn. What seemed like an auspicious moment in the history of the … Continue reading

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The Boycott bill: Britain’s political gift to Netanyahu

By Peter Oborne From Middle East Eye The anti-BDS Bill trashes the UK’s global reputation, yet Sunak’s morally broken government is pushing it through without serious scrutiny. On 11 and 12 Sept, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly received a hero’s … Continue reading

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Much Ado About What?

Evidence Submitted to House of Commons Committee on the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Public Bill, 5 September 2023 With a host of other pressing matters, domestic and foreign, already on its plate, puzzlingly the Sunak government has … Continue reading

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US Jews urged to condemn Israeli occupation amid Netanyahu censure

Open letter calls on Jewish leaders to speak out against ‘ultimate purpose’ of PM’s judicial reforms – upholding ‘regime of apartheid’ By Chris McGreal, published in The Guardian on 15 August 2023. Hundreds of Israeli and American public figures have … Continue reading

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Michael Gove’s bad Bill – an update

By Sir Vincent Fean The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill was heavily mauled in debate in the House of Commons on 3 July, particularly in this excellent speech by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns (Chair of the influential … Continue reading

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Varying degrees of imprisonment in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Report by Francesca Albanese Sir Vincent Fean, Balfour Project trustee, writes: Francesca Albanese is the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). She studies developments and reports regularly to the UN Human Rights Council, of … Continue reading

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The International Court of Justice should rule on the legality of the 1967 Occupation

Sir Vincent Fean writes: Last year the UN General Assembly voted to request that the International Court of Justice should deliver an advisory opinion which would consider the question of the legality of the Israeli military occupation of East Jerusalem, … Continue reading

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Friendship and twinning between Britain and Palestine: a mark of recognition and solidarity

Sir Vincent Fean writes: There are over forty British volunteer friendship and twinning groups with Palestine, from Dundee to Camden, from Sheffield to Bradford on Avon. To see the full list, please visit  www.twinningwithpalestine.net, the attractive website of the Britain … Continue reading

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In the looming civil war, the Israeli right has the upper hand

While the government can rely on national-religious identity to mobilise supporters, the opposition’s counternarrative suffers a serious weakness By Menachem Klein  on 24 July 2023. This article originally appeared in the Israeli +972 magazine The brewing “civil war” we are witnessing … Continue reading

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New report from Save the Children: “Injustice: Palestinian children’s experience of the Israeli military detention system”

Sir Vincent Fean writes: The Balfour Project commends a new report by Save the Children on the plight of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. Please click here to read the report. The report results from sustained, careful research. It … Continue reading

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All Palestinians and Israelis deserve to live in peace: UK statement at the Security Council

Sir Vincent Fean writes: Every month, the UN Security Council discusses developments in the Middle East, including Palestine/Israel. As a permanent member of the Security Council, the UK makes a statement at each session. The latest statement can be found … Continue reading

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Balfour Project hails former world leaders’ honest assessment, compared with UK’s ‘mealy-mouthed platitudes’

By Andrew Whitley Often it requires taking a break away from a situation to be able to observe more distinctly dramatic changes taking place; changes that might otherwise pass unnoticed to a day-to-day observer. That was the case for The … Continue reading

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The German problem with Palestine

By Ian Portman, 22 June, 2023 In May this year, Palestinians were preparing for their 75th commemoration events marking the Nakba (disaster) which overcome their land before and during the 1948 war. Starting in the autumn of 1947, colonial settler … Continue reading

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Letter from Balfour Project Chair to Sir Keir Starmer on the Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill.

30 June 2023 Dear Sir Keir, Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill: If Labour’s “reasoned amendment” is voted down in Parliament on Monday, please vote against the Bill I write on behalf of the trustees of the Balfour … Continue reading

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Elders warn of consequences of “one-state reality” in Israel and Palestine

Following their visit to Israel and and Palestine, Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon warn that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution. The Chair and Deputy Chair of The Elders today warned that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the … Continue reading

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New report reveals human rights violations because of IHRA definition of antisemitism

The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) has launched (June 6. 2023) its new report “Suppressing Palestinian Rights Advocacy through the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism – Violating the Rights to Freedom of Expression and Assembly in the European Union and … Continue reading

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Government’s new Bill drives a coach and horses through the UK’s claim to uphold human rights and international law.

By Richard Burden, Trustee This week, the UK Government has published a Bill that will both jettison Britain’s respect for international laws that ban the acquisition of territory by conquest and ignore UN rules signed by the UK over a … Continue reading

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The Status Quo governing Jerusalem’s holy sites preserves peace: UK statement at the Security Council

5 January 2023 Statement by British Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on situation in the Middle East Firstly, the UK recognises that Jerusalem’s holy sites including Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount hold particular significance for many around … Continue reading

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Football’s coming home…

…for the Palestinians! How the World Cup put Palestine in the international spotlight. Palestine: The Unexpected Star of the 2022 World Cup Joy, faith and Palestine: How Morocco’s team united the Arab world Israel scores own goal with World Cup … Continue reading

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How can Britain Help Right the Historic Wrong that it Committed Against the Palestinian People?

Mark Seddon of Deep Dive Palestine is live with Andrew Whitley, founder & executive director of Geo-Political Advisory Services (GPAS) & Chair of the Balfour Project. Andrew has had an expansive career first as a journalist for the BBC & … Continue reading

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‘Grave concern’ for increasing instability in West Bank and Jerusalem, says UK

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on the Situation in the Middle East, Nov 28, 2022 ‘The UK is gravely concerned by increasing instability in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Since 14 November, four Israelis … Continue reading

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UN committee votes to ask International Court to decide on Israel ‘annexation’ of OPT

The United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee (on Decolonisation) has voted 98-17 on a resolution to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on whether Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal on the grounds that its … Continue reading

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Israel Embassy move would ‘breach 1961 Vienna Convention’

Letter to UK Foreign Secretary from 27 international law experts says ‘there is nothing to review’ by Professor Iain GM Scobbie, Chair of Public International Law, and Director of the Manchester International Law Centre, University of Manchester

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Embassy move dropped

Britain’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has dropped the idea of “reviewing” the location of the UK Embassy in Israel, as suggested by his predecessor Liz Truss. Her proposal was to consider moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a … Continue reading

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Commission of Inquiry finds Israeli occupation unlawful under international law

Andrew Whitley, Chair of the Balfour Project, writes: A brand-new report from a UN Commission of Inquiry into grave breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law in Palestine and Israel will present a moral (and legal) dilemma for the … Continue reading

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Liz Truss under pressure to drop ‘reckless’ UK Israel embassy move

14 October 2022, Financial Times The Financial Times, with its long record of incisive Middle East reporting and careful editorial judgment, has added its voice to those urging the British Prime Minister to reconsider her stated inclination to review the … Continue reading

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History of the Balfour Project

The Balfour Project was established by Roger and Monica Spooner following a visit to Jordan in 2008. They visited an exhibition of the McMahon-Hussein correspondence in Aqaba and learned that in 1915 Britain had promised the Arabs a state which would … Continue reading

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Truss and Jerusalem

By William Law Published in the Arab Digest, a subscription newsletter which can be joined here. Arab Digest  provides high quality information, a discerning news filter and expert analysis suitable for business leaders, diplomatic strategy, academia and journalism. Summary: the … Continue reading

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Balfour Project Newsletters

Latest edition- July 2023 February 2023 September 2022

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Prime Minister’s Promise to ‘Review’ Moving the UK Embassy to Jerusalem

Prime Minister Liz Truss has told the Israeli Prime Minister that she will ‘review’ the location of HM Embassy to Israel. Below is a well-argued letter to our Foreign Secretary explaining why this would be wrong. The letter is written … Continue reading

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Statement by Daniel Levy, President, US/Middle East Project, to the UN Security Council, Thursday 25 August 2022

I would like to thank the Council and the Chinese presidency in particular for allowing me to share some thoughts with you today. The events of earlier this month covered in detail by Special Envoy Wennesland are as concerning as … Continue reading

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Tory leadership contenders demonstrate alarming bias toward Israel

By Susie Becher in The Times of Israel, published on 29 August 2022 Click here to read this article.

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The situation on the ground demonstrates the urgent need to make progress towards a Two-State Solution

Statement by UK Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East Let me start by welcoming the two-year anniversary of the Abraham Accords this month. The Abraham Accords are a historic milestone that … Continue reading

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