Labour First: Motion for a Two State Solution

 

Labour First has issued a number of model motions for Constituency Parties to consider submitting to Labour Party conference. For obvious reasons one of the areas that interests me the most is the Israel/Palestine conflict. As always I stand for a peaceful two-state solution which inevitably means compromise by both sides so that the conflict can at last be ended.

There is little point in raking over the past. It is what is and the need is to move forward. Israel is here to stay and there is also a need for the Palestinians to have a state. Reaching such a solution will be fraught with difficulties but the Arab world has begun to move towards a new relationship with Israel that can be a positive influence on how any resolution can be brokered.

Labour First has asked CLP's to consider the following motion which if passed will have a positive effect o the debate not just inside the Labour Party but in the country as a whole. A small but important step forward after the debacle that was created under Corbyn's regime.

Draft Motion:

Two-State Solution

Conference reiterates Labour’s position that the only way to create peace in the Middle East and end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is the negotiated creation of two states for two peoples: a Jewish state in Israel alongside a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, living alongside each other in peace and security. The rights of minority communities in both states must be fully respected.

West Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel, East Jerusalem the capital of the new Palestinian state. The Holy sites in the Old City must be accessible to all. The issue of the main Israeli settlement blocks in the West Bank should be resolved through mutually agreed land swaps.

Conference recognises the right to national self-determination and liberation of both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples and recognises the legitimacy of both Zionism and the Palestinian national movement.

Conference condemns all acts of terrorism unequivocally. Conference calls for free and democratic elections in the Palestinian Authority and the restoration of Palestinian Authority control over Gaza. Conference calls for the terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to be removed from power in Gaza and disarmed in return for massive investment to improve life for citizens in Gaza.

Conference rejects negative and one-sided tactics such as boycotts, divestment and sanctions and commits to supporting practical schemes that build peace and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, including the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Conference expresses solidarity with sister parties Israeli Labour, Meretz and Fatah.

Website: www.labourfirst.org