Wayne David, shadow minister for the Middle East, spoke at the conference event. Photo: FLYING COLORS/GETTY IMAGES
The UK should spend more on foreign aid to Palestine, Labour's shadow Middle East minister has said.
Wayne David has called on the government to increase funding as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists continues to rage. Palestine faces a blockade after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a «total siege» of the Gaza Strip, cutting off supplies electricity, food, gas and electricity.
>The Foreign Office has committed £17 million in Palestinian development funding in 2023-24, which is due to rise to £29 million in 2024-25.< /p> “Support the people of Palestine”
Speaking at an event organized by Friends of the Labor Party of Palestine and the Middle East, Mr David said: “I would like to see the British Government not cutting its international aid, but actually increasing support for the people of Palestine in this unprecedented situation.”
“And I think that's what we'll be calling for in the not-too-distant future.”
Lisa Nandy, the shadow international development secretary, appeared to contradict Mr David hours later, suggesting the UK should follow Europe's lead in reviewing its current aid commitments to Palestine.
Ms Nandy said at a fringe event : «In light of current events, it is right that the UK considers how British money is spent and whether that British money is used appropriately or whether it is used to support terrorist acts.»
Sending more money to Palestine would put Britain at odds with Germany and Austria, which have frozen a total of €144 million in aid while the European Union has put €700 million in development aid on the table.
Lisa Nandy, the shadow international development secretary, said British money should not be used to support terrorist acts. Photo: HEALTHCLIFF O'MALLEY/HEALTHCLIFF O& #39;MALLEY
Mr. David began his speech by saying: “The Hamas terrorist attacks must be condemned, and the Hamas terrorists who took hostages in Gaza are no less terrible.”
Later in the session he added: “We also need recognize, as has already been said, that there is a huge injustice being committed against the Palestinian people, and this has been happening for many years.”
“We have seen injustice against the Palestinian people. especially children, injustice in the occupied territories, we are seeing an increase in the number of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We must not turn a blind eye to this reality.»
This comes after two panellists speaking at the same event were criticized for their «incendiary» remarks after calling Israel an «apartheid» state. .
Tayab Ali, director of the International Center for Palestinian Justice, called for the «end of apartheid» while criticizing Western governments for expressing their solidarity with Israel.
“Some of the scenes we have seen over the past two days in Israel are a reality that Palestinians have lived through for decades.
Mr Ali also criticized a planned ban on councils boycotting Israeli goods as he said such boycotts were “incorrectly described as racist efforts.”
“Incendiary remarks”
Dr Sarah Husseini, director of the British Palestine Committee, called the Israeli government a «coalition of far-right extremists» before adding: «This is a settler-colonial project… which is within the bounds of the law.» definition of apartheid.”
A spokesman for the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “At a time when we see the most Jews killed in a single day since the Holocaust, such inflammatory language is not only ignorant. but incendiary.
“As history has shown, this kind of rhetoric can lead to very real harm to British Jews. The Labor Party must decide what kind of party it wants to be — the nation is watching.»
A Labor Party spokesman added: «Keir Starmer has made it clear that this is not the position of the Labor Party.»
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Party sources have noted that it is not responsible for the content of fringe events.
Earlier this year, the Labor Party forced backbench MP Kim Johnson to apologize for calling Israel a «state apartheid.» » in parliament.
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