
Luke Taylor (Battersea)
Twitter: @LukeTaylor104
Luke Taylor believes the UK Government should uphold the principles of equality, human rights and international law in all its relations and dealings with Israel. He considers the construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be illegal and unjustifiable.
Luke states that Palestine should be recognised by the UK Government but only ‘when the time is right’, and ‘hopes this can be achieved soon’. Luke does not think that we should stop trade with Israel's settlements on Palestinian land, and stop settlement goods being sold in Britain. He says ‘Putting trade sanctions on Israeli goods will only make achieving a peaceful solution much harder’.
Luke does not believe the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended. He says the agreement ‘allows the EU to regularly raise human rights concerns with Israel and work to address these’. He thinks ‘it was right that the UK reviewed the issue of our arms exports to Israel last year’, however the UK government should not stop ‘all’ arms exports to Israel.
In Luke’s view ‘the priority now must be to restart peace talks as quickly as possible to bring an end to the violence, improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians and ensure Israel’s security.’
Millicent Scott (Hammersmith)
Twitter: @MissMillicent
1) Do you believe the time has come to recognise Palestine?
Yes, please see the post I wrote on my website about Palestine and the situation in the Middle East. Peace in Israel and Palestine
2) Do you agree that we should stop trade with Israel's settlements on Palestinian land, and stop settlement goods being sold in Britain? Yes. Again, please see my post above.
3) Do you agree that the UK’s resettlement of 143 Syrian refugees is not nearly enough?
Yes. I think we should be supporting the number of refugees that the UN has demanded of the UK. This is the right thing to do in an international context. Liberal Democrats want an improved asylum system which both strongly upholds the UN Convention and minimises the potential for abuse. I believe that we should provide sanctuary to people who need it. The recent trends towards seeing "immigration" as a problem really worries me. We need to provide help and support to people who have had to flee from their homelands.
4) Do you think human rights should be an important part of British Foreign Policy?
Yes, absolutely! I am very proud that Liberal Democrats in government have prevented the Tories from repealing the Human Rights Act. I strongly believe that by providing powerful leadership, we should be lobbying not only to protect and promote Human Rights within the EU's 28 countries, but also setting an international standard. That way we can put pressure on other nations, such as China and Russia. We should under no circumstances move to reduce the UK's commitment to Human Rights protection and promotion. I will continue to fight for Human Rights to be respected at home and abroad, whether or not I am elected on 7th May.
5) Do you think Britain has a coherent Middle East policy?
Yes. Of course we should. Again, please see my post."
Sue Cooper (Henley)
Twitter: @Sue4Henley
"I strongly agree with 1 and agree with 2 (I urge the UK Government to uphold the principles of equality, human rights and international law in all its relations and dealings with Israel & I consider the construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be illegal and unjustifiable).
When it comes to the other points, although I agree in principle, I feel that I do not yet know enough about the possible consequences of these actions so I would have to answer "don't know". No doubt in time I shall learn more, especially if the UK Government did get around to proposing to carry out these steps."
Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton)
Twitter: @EdwardDaveyMP
“Thank you for your email. I would like to reassure you that I voted strongly against the Iraq war in 2003.
I also support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine situation, which would result in Palestine being recognised as an independent sovereign state. I visited Palestine in 2008 and following the visit I drew up report (http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4cc7ef422.pdf) with Parliamentary colleagues of mine which called for opening of border crossings into Gaza, independent investigations into war crimes, an end to Israeli settlement of Palestinian land and renewed efforts to make the two-state solution a reality.”
Robin Meltzer (Richmond Park and North Kingston)
Twitter: @robinmeltzer
“I want to see a negotiated peace settlement, with a two-state solution to the conflict. Both sides will need to make some significant compromises to ensure the rights of people from both communities are respected.”
“Liberal Democrats in Government have been working hard to ensure that the UK continues to play its part in the pursuit of peace. We have supported direct negotiations between the two sides, provided £122m over four years to help the Palestinian Authority develop and £107m worth of essential services to vulnerable refugee communities.”
“Yes. These settlements are illegal, there is no justification for them, and they make finding a two-state peace settlement harder.”
“I agree with the recognition of Palestine in principle, as part of a process to secure lasting peace”
“The blockade [of Gaza] is massively counter-productive for Israel's long-term security.
“My genuine fear is that putting trade sanctions on Israeli goods will only make achieving a peaceful solution harder. I think the UK Government is right to support the voluntary guidelines so that customers can identify whether goods come from the Occupied Palestinian Territories and make a decision for themselves if they want to buy them.”
Robin McGhee (Kensington and Chelsea)
Twitter: @RobinMcGhee
1) Do you believe the time has come to recognise Palestine?
Yes. I am on the record supporting British recognition of the State of Palestine. The Liberal Democrats also support this.
2) Do you agree that we should stop trade with Israel's settlements on Palestinian land, and stop settlement goods being sold in Britain?
Undecided. I'm not opposed in principle, but I am not convinced some of the proposed methods would be successful.
3) Do you agree that the UK’s resettlement of 143 Syrian refugees is not nearly enough?
Yes. We should accept more, as the Liberal Democrats have argued for.
4) Do you think human rights should be an important part of British Foreign Policy?
Yes. In fact I think it should be the central plank of British policy: its guiding philosophy and its diplomatic and military strategy should be based upon it. I have been a vocal critic of British support for regimes like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
5) Do you think Britain has a coherent Middle East policy?
No. We on the one hand do support improved human rights in some situations, but on the other strongly support countries like Saudi Arabia with diabolical human rights records. Our attitude towards countries' regimes varies basically arbitrarily according to whatever is convenient at the time: for example supporting Gaddafi's Libya, then his overthrow; supporting Mubarak, then his successors, then their successors. We do consistently support Israel and Saudi Arabia but this often means going against our other ostensible allies and has no discernable grand strategy or policy behind it. So overall, there is no obvious strategy, and mostly not one based on human rights.
Elaine Bagshaw (Poplar & Limehouse)
Twitter: @esbagshaw
Thank you for contacting me with your questions. This is a complex matter and one which politicians have sometimes shied away from due to the extremely diverse opinions this issue can bring up.
I have been candid in my response to your questions and, whilst you may not agree with all of my responses, I hope that you appreciate my honest responses and explanations of my points of view.
1) Do you believe the time has come to recognise Palestine?
Yes. I believe that recognition of the Palestinian state will make the international community’s commitment to a two-state solution clear, and may create a sense of urgency in both Israel and Palestine to discuss and resolve the issues that are blocking the physical creation of the state, for example the location of borders.
2) Do you agree that we should stop trade with Israel's settlements on Palestinian land, and stop settlement goods being sold in Britain?
Don’t know. Personally, I remain unconvinced about the power of boycotts over governments, and I believe they can have unintended consequences for individuals. I think in this situation it would be likely that operations would simply move from settlements into Israel, providing no incentive to the Israeli government to change it’s policy.
3) Do you agree that the UK’s resettlement of 143 Syrian refugees is not nearly enough?
As a Liberal Democrat, I will not engage in a numbers game over the fate of innocent people trapped by civil war. And with over 3.9 million displaced Syrians now in Syria’s neighbouring countries, we do not believe that a resettlement programme could be the main focus of the relief effort. We believe that humanitarian aid and seeking an end to the crisis are the best ways to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for the majority of Syrian refugees and their host countries. Compared with aid, resettlement can only ever support a comparatively small number of people in need.
Liberal Democrats support providing refuge to some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees. We are providing refuge to those who most need it: vulnerable women, children, victims of sexual violence, the elderly, victims of torture, and the disabled. In March 2014 the first group of vulnerable Syrian refugees arrived in the UK, under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. It is still possible for Syrians to claim asylum in the UK. Since the crisis began in 2011, the UK has granted leave to remain to over 3,000 Syrian nationals and dependents.
4) What more can the UK do to assist countries such as Lebanon and Jordan, under huge strains due to Syria's refugee crisis?
As mentioned above, I believe that humanitarian aid and seeking an end to the crisis is the best way to support countries such as Lebanon and Jordan who are supporting people displaced by the conflict in Syria.
5) Do you think human rights should be an important part of British Foreign Policy?
Definitely. Britain has a proud history of international leadership on human rights playing a key role in the creation of the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950.
The UK Human Rights Act (2000) makes the rights and freedoms in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) directly enforceable in the UK. Internationally, British leadership on human rights is as important now as it has ever been with worrying cases such as the imprisonment of Pussy Riot in Russia, the segregation of Roma Gypsy children in parts of Europe, the rise in human trafficking and the continued trampling of basic freedoms of individuals across the globe.
6) Do you think Britain has a coherent Middle East policy?
I think we do have a coherent policy, although this may get lost in the coverage of an incredibly complex situation. What's important to me is that our approach complies with international law and strikes a balance between the Sunni and Shia nations. We are trying to act as a mediator, rather than picking sides and destabilising the region further.
Nigel Jones (Walsall North)
Twitter: @WalsallNorthLD
"I found it difficult technically to use the replies to each question (details of questions can be found here). So , I say YES to all except numbers 3 and 6.
Number 3 is rather simplistic, since there is no Palestinian State and also we cannot support the means which Hamas are using to fight for their people.
Number 6 could do more harm than good, in cutting off communication with Israel.
Number 5 is difficult for a government to implement unless there are clear ways of identifying where the goods come from, but we should explore ways of doing this and make the public more aware of which goods are likely to come from there.
I would be unhappy with a government that simply implemented what you demand. Alongside these good actions, there needs to be reiterated the support of the survival of Israel and condemnation for unnecessary violence which is perpetrated by both sides in the conflict. Indeed, I would say that if we remove support for Israel's actions towards Gaza, oppose their continued building on what was Palestinian land and their use of the wall to make it extremely difficult for Palestinian economic life and the giving of alms to Israel, then we would be in a stronger position to condemn the violence of Hamas and their aim of the destruction of Israel."