Britain's Colonial History in Palestine and Israel

The past year has been critical for Israel and Palestine. There have been decades of debates, discussions and policies regarding Israel and Palestine, but 2024 marked a milestone for the role of international law. The International Court of Justice passed three provisional measures against Israel, providing an advisory opinion that deemed the occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory to be illegal. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and for a Hamas member; Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif). All the cases create not only an obligation for Israel but third states, including the United Kingdom. Third state responsibility is as crucial as an obligation on primary parties as the enforcement of international law and policies and their effectiveness depends on the political willingness of third states.

Join us in our conversation with a panel that discusses international law and accountability in the context of Britain’s colonial history and historic responsibility. The panel will provide you with insights into Britain's history and legal obligations and how the current policies and practice in the Parliament seek to act in line with their responsibility. We will be covering the following themes:

· Britain’s shameful legacy: politics and promises in Mandatory Palestine

· Britain’s responsibility under international law: efficacy
and compliance with the Rules

· The UK government's policy response to their legal obligations
in Palestine

· Is there a scenario in which the Israeli people choose a peaceful
path? State versus individuals’ responsibility.

Speakers:

We are honoured to have Ann Patterson, a grassroot activist from ‘Peace People’ to open the event and bring a Northern-Irish post-conflict perspective.

· Lara Bird-Leakey (Executive Committee Member of the Balfour Project and Senior Policy Advisor in Foreign Affairs and Defence in the House of Commons),

· Matan Rosenstrauch (Fellowship Coordinator at The Balfour Project)

· Lily Wood (Fellowship Assistant at The Balfour Project)

· Rachel Yi (Education Fellow at The Balfour Project)

· Breshna Rani (Advocacy Fellow at The Balfour Project).

The Balfour Project was created by British citizens to highlight Britain’s record in Palestine before, during, and after the Mandate, effectively from 1840 to 1948, to the present day. Through education and advocacy, we work to advance equal rights for all in Palestine/Israel regardless of race or creed and achieve greater public awareness of Britain’s current and historic responsibilities in Palestine/Israel.

This is the first public event we hold at Belfast, in collaboration with Queen’s University. The speakers are both current fellows, former fellows and members of The Fellowship Programme for postgraduate and recent graduate students in the UK. So this is also an opportunity to learn more about our Fellowship Programme.

This event is brought to you by the Centre for the Study of Ethnic Conflict at Queen's University Belfast. The Centre for the Study of Ethnic Conflict brings together staff of the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy & Politics with research expertise on, and interest in, this practical puzzle: how do contemporary states and international organisations negotiate and communicate with residents of ethnically different origin, elaborate and implement policies of minority protection, maintain and improve relations between group who perceive of themselves as having different, and at times conflicting, perennial identities? The focus of Centre's work is on the social and political origins of ethnic conflict, policy instruments of conflict prevention, post conflict reconciliation and peace building, and on comparative analyses of intergroup conflicts across the globe.

Host or Publisher Balfour Project