Efforts to secure British government funding for joint Israeli-Palestinian coexistence projects were stepped up this week by Labour Friends of Israel and its supporters.
December 9, 2016 14:38
ByMarcus Dysch, By Marcus Dysch Political Editor
The group urged the government to provide £1.35 million towards what LFI calls “people-to-people” projects aimed at promoting peace.
LFI has been campaigning for months to secure support from the Department for International Development (DfID). It wants to set up an international fund with the aim of aiding the peace process through the shared projects.
Money for such initiatives is provided jointly by the Foreign Office, DfID and the Ministry of Defence. In the 2015-16 financial year, the total funding stood at £150,000. Responses from two ministers to LFI-supporting MPs, seen by the JC this week, revealed conflicting explanations of the government’s position.
Rory Stewart, DfID minister, last month said Priti Patel, Secretary of State for International Development, was “assessing options for providing further support to coexistence programmes”. He also said Britain “currently provides £400,000 to support a programme aiming to foster constituencies for peace inside Israel”.
LFI argues that sum is not spent on genuine coexistence projects.
In October, Tobias Ellwood, Middle East Minister, said the Foreign Office had not provided any such funding in the current financial year.
Joan Ryan, LFI chair, said: “While ministers have been telling us for months that they wish to increase support for people-to-people projects, it now appears that they have eliminated funding for them altogether.”
Coexistence projects could provide “the vital underpinnings of any sustainable peace settlement”, she said.
“It is deeply regrettable that the government continues to fail to recognise this.”
In an open letter to Ms Patel, LFI again urged her to back the creation of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
LFI wrote: “People-to-people work is already evident in all kinds of fields. From sports clubs for children and young people to environmental, cultural, economic and interfaith projects, the job of building positive relationships across conflict lines has already commenced.
“However, despite the huge investments made by the international community in the peace process, coexistence work has not been viewed as an essential part of this investment. Britain’s spending in Israel-Palestine exemplifies the problem.”
LFI said such projects currently have a “limited impact” due to a lack of funding but could, with proper resources, work to “force leaders in both countries to return to meaningful negotiations”.
Dozens of Labour MPs signed the open letter, including Emily Thornberry, Shadow Foreign Secretary; Nia Griffith, Shadow Defence Secretary; and Barry Gardiner, the Shadow International Trade Secretary.
Jennifer Gerber, LFI director, said the group was “delighted” by the breadth of support for its campaign from within Labour.