A UK parliamentary group on Palestine could bring new perspectives to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of its founders has said.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a former cabinet minister, announced she will be relaunching the Conservative Friends of Palestine parliamentary group with other party members.
“It’s not about denying the right of Israel to exist, but about talking of the persecution [of Palestinians] to stop the suffering of Palestinians today,” she said on Monday, at an event marking the 75th year of the Palestinian Nakba at the House of Commons.
She also called for the British government’s recognition of the state of Palestine, and accused ministers of “openly denying a future state for Palestinians.”
Baroness Warsi, a former chairwoman of the Conservative party, resigned from her position as a cabinet minister in 2014, in criticism of the coalition government’s policy on the Israel-Gaza conflict that year.
The Conservative Friends of Israel parliamentary group was founded in 1974 and has 2,000 supporters, according to its website.
Conservative support for the Palestinians has typically come through the Conservative Middle East Council, which covers the wider region. A Conservative parliamentary group on Palestine was set up in 2019, but has been mostly inactive.
One of the aims of the newly-launched group, she said, would be to encourage advocates of Palestine to “part with emotions and deal with the facts.”
“Facts are so powerful, but simple facts are often not put in a digestible manner,” she said, “Challenging [the Israeli narrative] has been a language issue. You must find the language and do it in a way where you can be effective.”
“This will be part of the role of Conservative Friends of Palestine.”
Leila Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP whose mother’s family fled Jerusalem in 1948, agreed that facts about the Palestinian issue need to be more widely disseminated. “I’ve been struck by my conversations with Friends of Israel. They don’t have a clue about the Palestinian story,” she said at the event.
Baroness Warsi's announcement comes as the UK declined to participate in the UN’s first ever Nakba commemoration, after Israel’s UN envoy urged a boycott of the event.
Speaking at the House of Commons on Monday, Dr Hussam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, described the decision as “disappointing”.
He said that no ministers or officials from the British government had accepted their invitations to attend events commemorating the Nakba, when thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes upon the formation of Israel in 1948. “Nakba denial should be made a crime,” he added.
Alistair Burt, a former minister of state for the Middle East and Conservative MP, called for renewed attention to the Israel and Palestine conflict. “The status quo is getting worse. It’s hard to find the international will, or the will between Israel and Palestinians, to change this,” he told The National.
“With the international community’s bandwidth taken up by Ukraine, I fear that something very bad will happen,” he added.
Rather, a resolution to the conflict is in the hands of those who “see a better future” for the region, he said.
“The Gulf states have a genuine passion for peace. The Abraham Accords has a role to play, but it cannot be done at the expense of Palestinians,” he added.
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
The Saga Continues
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Pari
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Director: Prosit Roy
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Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
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Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
War 2
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Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
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'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
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Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
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- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
