Evidence Session: The Israeli-Palestinian
conflict
Tuesday 10 December 2024, 14.00, Grimond Room
In the first of two evidence sessions this week on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Foreign Affairs Committee will
hear from witnesses including Dr Sharone Lifschitz, whose parents
who were taken hostage in October 2023, and Husam Zomlot, Head of
the Palestine Mission to the United Kingdom.
In the first panel, the Committee will explore how to achieve
peace between Israelis and Palestinians, aiming to hear a range
of viewpoints. Expert witnesses, both Israeli and Palestinian,
will appear. Questions in this panel will be wide-ranging but are
likely to focus on how a ceasefire might be arranged in Gaza and
how a two-state solution may be achieved in the longer
term.
Husam Zomlot, Head of the Palestine Mission to the United
Kingdom, will give evidence in the second panel. In this panel
Members will focus on the standpoint of the Palestinian Authority
and consider policy options for the UK Government in seeking a
ceasefire and sustainable peace. Topics likely to be covered in
this panel include the Palestine Mission's mission statement; the
two-state solution; the hostages being held in Gaza; and Israeli
settler violence.
Dr Sharone Lifschitz is a British-Israeli filmmaker and
campaigner whose parents were taken hostage during the October
2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. While Dr Lifschitz'
mother has been released, her father is still held captive in
Gaza. In the third panel of the day, Dr Lifschitz will appear
alongside Adam Wagner and Adam Rose, lawyers who have been
working together to represent pro bono the families of
British and British-linked hostages in Gaza. Questions in this
panel will focus on the hostages. The Committee is likely to
cover the experiences of hostages' families since 7 October 2023,
and ways in which the UK Government may be able to help to secure
their release.
Tuesday 10 December, 14.00:
14.00 –15.00 (approx.):
- Dr Gershon Baskin – co-chairman, Israel/Palestine Center for
Research and Information (ICRI) (virtual)
- Samer Sinijlawi – Founding Chairman, Jerusalem Development
Fund (virtual)
- Victor Kattan – Assistant Professor in Public International
Law, University of Nottingham
- Colonel (Retired) Miri Eisin – Senior Fellow, International
Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
15.00 – 15.30 (approx.):
- Husam Zomlot – Head of the Palestine Mission to the United
Kingdom
15.30 – 16.00 (approx.):
- Adam Wagner – Barrister, Doughty Street Chambers
- Adam Rose – Solicitor and Partner, Mishcon de Reya
- Dr Sharone Lifschitz – daughter of hostages taken in October
2023
Evidence Session: The Israeli-Palestinian
conflict
Thursday 12 December 2024, 11.30, Wilson Room
On Thursday 12 December, at 11.30, the Foreign Affairs Committee
will hold a second session on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
In this session, the Committee will hear from experts in
international law from the British Red Cross and the University
of Geneva. The session will focus on the fundamentals of
international humanitarian law (IHL) and the potential
applicability of IHL to the conflict in Gaza.
Thursday 12 December, 11.30:
· Claire Clement – Director,
International Law and Policy at British Red Cross
· Professor Marco Sassoli –
Professor of International Law at University of Geneva
