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- The true story behind the ethnic cleansing of the Nakba
- Violent Israeli settler purges of Palestinians in South Hebron Hills under Gaza war cover
- Open Letter to Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron
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Category Archives: Current Positions
New report warns unequal status quo in Israel and Palestine will lead to more violence
A new report from international development and humanitarian organisation Christian Aid has highlighted the deep inequalities which divide Palestinians and Israelis across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory and threaten a further escalation of violence and loss of life if … Continue reading
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Palestinian Woman Remanded on Bail
Human rights case that a UK church took up The young Palestinian woman, Layan Nasir, whom Israeli security forces arrested at her Ramallah area home in a dawn raid last July, has been remanded on bail by an Israeli military … Continue reading
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The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
‘Fair Observer’ talks to Avi Shlaim, professor emeritus of international relations at St. Antony’s College, Oxford By Abul-Hasanat Siddique & Avi Shlaim September 16, 2021 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has waxed and waned for several decades. The roots of it stem far beyond the … Continue reading
All parties to Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be open to further dialogue – GOV.UK
Statement by UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the Security Council Briefing on the Middle East. Delivered at the UN on September 29, 2021 Madam President, the United Kingdom welcomes recent engagement between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian leadership, including … Continue reading
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New perspectives on Israel-Palestine for new audiences
Article on the Balfour Project Fellows published in Arab Banker Magazine, Autumn 2021 Two years ago, a British charity, the Balfour Project, began sponsoring groups of students to explore and report on key areas of the asymmetrical conflict between the … Continue reading
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Preventing further escalation of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Statement by UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the Security Council briefing on the Middle East Delivered on 30 August 2021. Let me start by once again reinforcing the need to prevent a further escalation in violence in Israel and the … Continue reading
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Connecting Parliaments in Europe for Israeli/Palestinian equality
By Julie Elliott MP Europe is neighbour, friend and trading partner to both Israel and Palestine. Economically, the EU/Israel Association Agreement matters greatly to Israel, affording free access to its biggest market. The same terms apply to the UK/Israel Trade … Continue reading
Responses to the HRW report on Apartheid and Persecution of Palestinians
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Ban Ki-moon: US should back a new approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
This is not a dispute between equals that can be resolved through bilateral negotiations The writer is a former secretary-general of the UN and deputy chair of The Elders It is time to acknowledge that the longstanding approach taken to … Continue reading
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Call by 55 former European leaders: Protect the Independence of the ICC
Written 31 May 2021′ We welcome the support that European leaders have expressed for the ICC and its unique mandate of advancing justice following war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Consistent support for the ICC and promotion of its … Continue reading
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A message to the PM
MPs send No.10 the Balfour Project call for the strict application of international law, including via the ICC, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Pearson caught in Middle East history textbook scandal
Pro-Israel bias and misrepresentation of the Israel/Palestine situation has been a feature of much of mainstream media for some years. Now GCSE textbooks, published by Pearson and Hodder, have come under intense attention from pro-Israel advocates. As a result, Hodder … Continue reading
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BBC sparks outrage after removing content following pressure from pro-Israel lobby
Published in the Middle East Monitor on 2 June 2021. The BBC has removed a series of educational videos about Palestine and the origins of the ongoing Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing, following pressure from a pro-Israel lobbyist organisation, UK Lawyers for … Continue reading
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Why Israeli progressives have started to talk about ‘apartheid’
By Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, in The Guardian, 3 June 2021. Michael Sfard was a keynote speaker at our conference entitled ‘Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law’ in May 2021 and his talk can be … Continue reading
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Briefing to the 8782nd session of the Security Council, May 27, 2021
Posted May 31, 2021 by Rashid Khalidi in MR Online. The events of the last few weeks have provoked worldwide recognition of realities on the ground in Occupied Palestine, realities of systemic discrimination, of oppression, and of settler colonialism. People have responded to … Continue reading
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Israel, Palestine, and Law
Balfour Project statement, 26 May 2021 Equal rights under the law are the foundation stone of all democracies. Israel views itself as a democracy. But many in Israel and around the world, including in Britain, were dismayed by the Knesset’s … Continue reading
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Why the rule of law matters – Rt Hon Baroness Hale of Richmond
Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Sir Vincent Fean: Good day, everybody. And welcome to our … Continue reading
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Israel/Palestine: recent developments at the ICJ and ICC – Philippe Sands QC
Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Dominic Grieve QC: Now it’s my great pleasure to introduce … Continue reading
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Essays on Equality, Rights and Responsibilities
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Israel, Palestine and International Law
Sir Vincent Fean, Chair of the Balfour Project Trustees and former Consul-General in Jerusalem, and Professor Adam Sutcliffe, Professor of European History at King’s College, London, and member of the steering group, Independent Jewish Voices, have issued the following statement … Continue reading
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Israeli-Palestinian peace relies on this essential truth being grasped
This piece, by John McHugo, a Balfour Project Trustee and head of its Fellowship Programme, was published by The Independent. As the dust settles on the latest Israel/Palestinian conflict, and the blood of innocents and perpetrators dries indifferently, the great fear is … Continue reading
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Israel-Palestine: in search of the rule of law by Sir Vincent Fean in the Arab Digest
Written by Sir Vincent Fean for the Arab Digest Just when you think it can’t get any worse – it does. Déjà vu, only worse. It is the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, as I used to describe it in my time as … Continue reading
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Bishop Christopher Chessun, Balfour Project Patron, in Jerusalem
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Shameless: Ministers are now attacking our public authorities for respecting human rights in Israel and Palestine
By Richard Burden There was a time when some politicians would argue that human rights were nothing to do with business; that it was perfectly legitimate for UK companies to profit from trade with regimes overseas however badly those regimes … Continue reading
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Sir Vincent Fean on Sky News, 14 May 2021
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Sir Vincent Fean, Chair of Balfour Project, on BBC, 12 May 2021
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Instagram Censoring
I have received reports that some Instagram users in Jerusalem are facing censorship, presumably by Instagram itself, which is owned by Facebook. Palestinians have reported that recently, when they write Instagram messages about the wave of evictions of Palestinian families … Continue reading
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UK-European statement condemns Israeli settlements, East Jerusalem evictions
The Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK issued this statement on Israeli settlements on May 6. We urge the Government of Israel to reverse its decision to advance the construction of 540 settlement units in the Har … Continue reading
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UK backs Palestinian elections, including in Jerusalem, at UN Security Council
Excerpt of Statement by British Ambassador Jonathan Allen at the Security Council briefing on the Middle East on 23 April 2021 Mr President, following elections held in Israel on 24 March, we look forward to working with a new Israeli … Continue reading
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson Confirms UK Opposition to ICC Investigation into war crimes in Palestine
The Balfour Project read with sadness and dismay the concluding words in the Prime Minister’s letter to the Conservative Friends of Israel of 9 April 2021. These words assert that “Palestine is not a sovereign State” and that the investigation … Continue reading
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‘Biased changes’ in GCSE textbooks on Middle East history
A group of academics, the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, has uncovered what it describes as bias that has been introduced into British GCSE textbooks on Middle East history. BRICUP found hundreds of changes in two books published … Continue reading
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The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism
The Balfour Project opposes all forms of racism, bigotry and discrimination, including antisemitism. We commend the recent Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism; one year in the making, by international scholars in antisemitism and related fields from Europe, the USA, Canada and … Continue reading
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ANTISEMITISM: a defining moment
Julia Bard looks at the Jerusalem Declaration and assesses its potential to re-set the political dial Published in the Jewish Socialist, 3 August 2021. I know they said there would be no exams this year, but here’s a question just … Continue reading
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Rev Dr Munther Isaac – Christian Zionism as Imperial Theology
Thank you all for joining us. I’m privileged to speak to you and address this really important and relevant topic of Christian Zionism as an imperial theology. The impact and influence of Christian Zionism have been manifested, especially in the … Continue reading
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Palestinian peace must rest on international law
By Mary Robinson, published in The Financial Times on 15 March 2021. ICC decision to investigate Hamas and Israel has implications for both sides. BP Trustee, author and international lawyer John McHugo writes: For far too long, political leaders have shied … Continue reading
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Working towards a two-state solution
Introduction to UK Government statement to the UN Security Council of 26 February 2021 The latest statement by the UK to the UN Security Council, at its regular meeting on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict on 26 February, deserves attention – for … Continue reading
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Requesting the UK government’s urgent intervention against the dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, East Jerusalem
Letter from Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights to Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, Minister of State fo rthe Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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The British Government position on Jerusalem
The British Government has now replied to the six recommendations in the Balfour Project statement “Israel-Palestine: equal rights for a lasting peace” which concluded our 27 October conference on Jerusalem. We are indebted to our patron, Rt Revd John Pritchard, … Continue reading
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Over 80 UK parliamentarians call on Israel to stop the dispossession of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, or face diplomatic consequences
Published by CAABU, 9 February 2021. Over 80 British parliamentarians representing all parties, in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, wrote in a letter to the British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab that the British government must … Continue reading
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Church leaders call on Israel to give vaccine access to Palestinians in West Bank/Gaza
Two distinguished patrons of the Balfour Project signed the communique below from the Holy Land Coordination (HLC):Rt Revd Declan Lang, Catholic Bishop of Clifton and Chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Dept. of International Affairs andRt Revd Christopher Chessun, Anglican … Continue reading
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We are Israel’s largest human rights group – and we are calling this apartheid
By Hagai El-Ad, published in The Guardian, 12 Jan, 2021 The systematic promotion of the supremacy of one group of people over another is deeply immoral and must end One cannot live a single day in Israel-Palestine without the sense … Continue reading
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Indonesia is no saviour: against normalisation with Israel
By Gilang Al Ghifari Lukman, published on New Mandala on 11 JAN, 2021 Recent reports of potential normalisation between Indonesia and Israel have received varied reactions in the respective countries. In his three-month marathon toward normalization, U.S. President Donald Trump … Continue reading
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Seeking cooperation in order to achieve a two-state solution – Ambassador Barbara Woodward
Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East. Published 21 December 2020 Thank you, Mr President, and thank you to Special Coordinator Mladenov for his briefing. As others have done, I’d … Continue reading
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How Israel’s Settlement-Separation Roads Speed Towards One State
The rapid integration of the settlers and their roads with pre-1967 Israel means a workable two-state solution becomes more impossible by the minute. By Ahmad Al-Bazz and Edo Konrad, published on +972 on December 31, 2020. How Israel’s road projects are ensuring apartheid is … Continue reading
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A scion of Zionist aristocracy wants to quit the Jewish people. Will Israel let him?
Why Avraham Burg, who has served as Knesset speaker, interim president and head of the Jewish Agency, is asking Israel to annul his registration as a Jew Ravit Hecht | Jan. 2, 2021 (From Haaretz) Avraham Burg has been a … Continue reading
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Former Jerusalem archbishop: How long will Catholics keep ignoring the suffering of Palestinians?
By Michel Sabbah on 22 December 2020. Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah served as the archbishop and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1987 to 2008, the first native Palestinian to hold the office for centuries. He is a co-author of the … Continue reading
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The lost potential of Jenin
By Ahmad Al-Bazz and Sarah Abu Alrob for The Electronic Intifada, 23 October 2020. In the northern West Bank city of Jenin, there was once an airfield, a train station, three cinemas and two major roads connecting the town with the neighboring cities … Continue reading
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In Conversation with Leila Sansour
You can watch Open Bethlehem on Vimeo. Below is the excerpt of Open Bethlehem about Rachel’s Tomb, shown during the event. Leila Sansour is a Palestinian/British filmmaker with more than 24 years of experience working in television as a producer, … Continue reading
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Palestinians Condemn British Colonialism for their Plight
In a rare and outspoken item for British broadcasting media on Monday night (Dec.4, 2020}, Channel 4 news tackled the question of British colonialism and its responsibility since 1917 for the dispossession of the Palestinian people and their mass expulsion … Continue reading
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