Committees

Israel-Palestine: is a two-state solution still achievable? Experts to give evidence

27 February 2024

On Tuesday 27 February, at 2.30, the Foreign Affairs Committee will hold an evidence session on the prospects for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the longest-running conflicts in the Middle East, and a major source of instability for the region.

In the first panel, witnesses will set out the historical context to the conflict. MPs may ask witnesses to explain the lessons of previous attempts to build a two-state solution, the impact of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and whether solutions could extend beyond two states to one, three or  four.

MPs may also ask witnesses to set out the common interests of Israelis and Palestinians and how these could form the basis of an eventual peaceful solution.

In the second panel, MPs may ask witnesses for their views on how the 7 October massacre and subsequent war in Gaza have affected the prospect of a two-state solution.

They may also ask whether a one-state solution is realistic, and how this could be held together without further conflict. MPs may ask which examples could be used as a model, and whether third party powers such as the UK, US, Turkey or Arab states could help resolve the conflict.

Witnesses

Tuesday 27 February in the Grimond Room, Palace of Westminster

Panel one at 2.30pm

  • Gershom Gorenberg, journalist and historian, author of The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements 1967-1977 (Remote)
  • Dr. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University (Remote)
  • Colonel (Retired) Miri Eisin, Managing Director at International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (Remote)

Panel two at 3.45pm

  • Rt Hon Alistair Burt, former Minister of State for the Middle East at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (In person)
  • Dr. Gershon Baskin, Co-Chairman at Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI)
  • Samer Sinijlawi, Founding Chairman at Jerusalem Development Fund

Further information

Image: FCDO