UK Labour party passes motion that defines Israel as 'apartheid state'

• Author: ARIELLA MARSDEN
• Published date: 28 September 2021

The motion further demanded actions against "the building of settlements, reverse any annexation and ends the occupation of the West Bank and the Blockade of Gaza."

Human rights groups were quoted in the motion as "concluding unequivocally that Israel is practicing the crime of apartheid as defined by the UN."

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Not all the party members supported the motion. The shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, distanced herself from the motion, telling the Independent that Labour must follow a "fair and balanced approach", while Labour leader Kier Starmer reportedly clashed with the members who supported the motion.

Nandy is the former chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, and in February 2020 she was backed by the Jewish Labour Movement to become the new party leader.

"There can only be a lasting peace through a safe and secure Israel existing alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian state," Nandy told the Independent. "Therefore we cannot support this motion. It does not address the issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a comprehensive or balanced way."

According to the Middle East Monitor, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the motion, saying that it sends a strong message to Israel.

The motion came after a Jewish former member of the party, Dame Louise Ellman, rejoined the...