Topics / Geopolitics
What should be the UK's policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
What policy should the UK adopt toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how should it weigh the security, rights and self-determination of Israelis and Palestinians when using diplomacy, recognition, arms export controls and sanctions? The positions differ both in values and in contested judgements about what outcomes are achievable.
Positions
- Strong support for Israel's security: Israel faces armed groups and states openly committed to its destruction, and it has the right and the duty to defend its citizens. The UK should stand firmly with Israel as a democratic ally in meeting those threats, while supporting humanitarian relief for civilians.
- Two-state solution, pressure on both sides: The UK should work for a negotiated two-state settlement: a secure Israel alongside a viable, sovereign Palestinian state, based on the 1967 lines with agreed land swaps. UK support for either side should be conditional on respect for international law.
- Prioritise Palestinian rights: The UK should put Palestinian rights and international law at the centre of its policy, halting arms sales to Israel and applying sanctions until the occupation ends and international law is respected.
- A single democratic state with equal rights: Settlement growth and the collapse of negotiations mean two states are no longer realistic. The UK should support a single democratic state, or a shared confederal arrangement, across Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, in which Israelis and Palestinians have equal citizenship and rights.