Caabu Press Release: Caabu Parliamentary delegation to the West Bank: MPs question viability of a two-state solution

Posted by Caabu on 27 Sep 2012 | Comments

 

 

Caabu Parliamentary delegation to the West Bank: MPs question viability of a two-state solution

27 September 2012

 

Following a four-day visit on a Caabu-LFPME delegation to the West Bank, British MPs questioned the continuing viability of a two-state solution.

 

The Shadow Secretary of State for Health Andy Burnham MP, said that it was “Hard not to conclude that 'two-state solution' is dying before our eyes, if not dead already.”

 

Seema Malhotra MP echoed his comment: "Looking at the expanding settlements, checkpoints and separation wall, combined with the daily grind of occupation for ordinary families, it was hard not to conclude that only a small window of time remains for the chance for a two-state solution. The issue is urgent and the international community must act."

Palestinian Prime Minister meets Caabu delegation

The delegation visited much of the West Bank including Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus and Qalqilya. This included visiting communities that had been cut off and surrounded by the wall near Qalqilya and Al Walajeh. They had meetings with UN officials, Palestinian and international NGOs, Israeli human rights organisations and also with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr Salam Fayyad.

 

Caabu Director, Chris Doyle who led the delegation, said “At a time when the Palestinian President is desperately trying to get support from key United Nations members for Palestinian statehood, the reality on the ground makes it harder and harder to see how this can come about. The international community has sat and watched as their preferred solution to this conflict has been eaten away by a relentless settlement programme.”

 

 

Ends.

 

 

Notes:

1 – The delegation was organised in conjunction with the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME) http://www.lfpme.org/

 

2. – Caabu has taken ten delegations with 36 politicians to the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the last two years.

 

3. - For more information or interviews, please contact Chris Doyle on 07968040281 doylec@caabu.org