At our AGM last year, we were one year into the horrendous war in Gaza. Re-reading my report from then is sobering, too little has changed.
While there is now a ceasefire in Gaza that seems to be just about holding, there has been little progress in resolving the issues that will allow the people of Gaza to get the amounts of the humanitarian aid need (especially as a 3rd winter since the war started approaches) and can start rebuilding their lives without the twin threats of Hamas and a further invasion by Israel.
On the Occupied West Bank the Netanyahu Government is pressing ahead with expanding Israeli settlement, both existing “legal” ones and in allowing ad-hoc new settlements in areas that, under the Oslo Accords, should be under Palestine Authority control. The idea is to make establishing an independent Palestinian state almost impossible because of these “facts” on the ground. However, Israelis know that, just as in Sinai in the early 1980s & Gaza in 2005, these facts can be removed if needed.
Wider afield, we have seen fighting in Lebanon against Hezbollah, exchanges in missiles with the Huthis in Yemen and almost a full-scale war against Iran. There have also been incursion into Syria. All these fronts are currently quieter but could errupt again very quickly.
In my view, all these are linked by an increasingly desperate Netanyahu trying to keep his Coalition Government together, Already it is technically a minority Government since the ultra-Orthodox Parties (United Torah Judaism and Shas) withdrawing over the moves to conscript Orthodox Yeshiva students into the IDF although they will still support the Coalition in some Knesset votes. This has meant threats from the two extremist Jewish Nationalist Parties (Religious Zionists and Jewish Power) to leave the Coalition and force new elections have meant that Netanyahu has had to give into their demands to continue the war in Gaza and not agree to a solution that means the withdrawal of the IDF from that territory.
Elections must be held in Israel by 27th October 2026 and currently, it looks like Netanyahu and his current Coalition partners will lose and a new Coalition lead by the two previous Prime Ministers, Naftali Bennett, leading a new Party, and Yair Lapid from Yesh Atid, our sister Party in Liberal International, with another new party The Democrats (a merger between Labour and Meretz) will from the new Israeli Government. However, Israeli politics are notoriously fluid and personality led so I would not be surprised if other new parties coalesce in the lead up to the elections.
There are also election due in Palestine in the coming year, President Abbas has pledged to hold Presidential & Parliamentary elections in the next year but the political position there is even harder to read. We may well see a very different political make up in the area by our next AGM.
Where can we here in the UK can help? We need to work with the many peace activists on both sides, to build that trust to show that Palestinians & Israelis can live & work together. By refusing to take sides, preferring to support solutions, by facilitating meetings both here and in Palestine & Israel so we can remove the fear both have of the other.
Palestine & Israel are two deeply traumatised societies. We can help them recover and learn that the way forward id not through repeating that trauma time & time again, learn that even when there are two states, they will need to cooperate.
Turning to the activities of LDfPME. We have not held as many meetings and events as I would like this year. This has been mainly due to my ill health over the year that has restricted what I can do. However, we have held a very successful Fringe event at the Autumn Conference in conjunction with Solutions Not Sides (available on our YouTube channel) where we discussed how to build bridges for Middle East Peace, my thanks to all those who helped especially Sharon, Amin and our two speakers Hamze and Yaniv.
Our membership is growing but we need more so we can become an Affiliated Organisation so please encourage members in your Local Party to join.
Finally, no one is pretending a few smart words can solve the decades old, complex problem but, can I just conclude with:
From the River to the Sea, on two states we all agree.
From the River to the Sea, may all its peoples be free!