The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) notes the recent letter (click here to read) sent by Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP to the Prime Minister regarding Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
The letter is notable not only for what it says, but for what it omits. It presents a highly selective account of events whilst overlooking a number of inconvenient facts that do not fit its narrative.
Regarding Gaza
Dr Allin-Khan expresses concern over areas of Gaza currently under Israeli control. What she fails to acknowledge is that those areas not under Israeli control remain under the control of Hamas, a terrorist organisation proscribed by the United Kingdom and much of the world.
Hamas was responsible for the atrocities of 7 October and has continued both its efforts to attack Israel and its oppression of the Palestinian residents of Gaza. What is too often overlooked, however, is that the violence did not end with Hamas terrorists. As the border was breached, other Gazans took the opportunity to enter Israel, with some participating in the looting of homes, the abduction of civilians, and the wider atrocities committed that day. Any serious discussion of 7 October must acknowledge that reality, however uncomfortable it may be.
The MP’s letter presents Israel as the principal obstacle to Gaza’s future, yet those actually responsible for overseeing reconstruction efforts have reached a rather different conclusion.
The Board of Peace, the vast U.S.-led international coalition charged with the reconstruction of Gaza, has stated:
“The principal obstacle to full implementation remains Hamas’ refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza.”
This rather inconvenient assessment from those actually responsible for Gaza’s reconstruction stands in stark contrast to the narrative advanced by Dr Allin-Khan, who seems considerably more certain of the causes of Gaza’s problems than the people dealing with them on the ground.
Israel has made clear that it is prepared, as it always has been, to redeploy from Gaza upon request of the Board of Peace. At present, however, the Board continues to rely upon Israeli forces for its own security and to prevent a complete Hamas takeover of Gaza.
To disregard the wishes and assessments of the very body tasked with rebuilding Gaza would not advance peace or reconstruction. It would place Gaza’s residents, Israeli civilians, international personnel and the reconstruction effort itself at greater risk.
Regarding Judea and Samaria
The letter also raises concerns regarding what Dr Allin-Khan describes as the West Bank, also known by its original and historical name of Judea and Samaria.
The territory came under Israeli control in 1967 following a Jordanian attack aimed at destroying the Jewish state. Since that time, over the course of nearly six decades, Jewish communities have come to comprise less than three per cent of the land area of Judea and Samaria, notwithstanding the Jewish people’s ancient historical ties to the region.
Israel additionally provides security in other areas of Judea and Samaria pursuant to arrangements agreed with the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords.
Yet despite the certainty of the claims made in her letter, Dr Allin-Khan identifies no actual activity undertaken by Israel that would substantiate her allegations.
Instead, she speculates that Israel may, at some undefined point in the future, engage in “settlement expansion” and the “displacement of Palestinian communities”. The basis for this prediction is not any actual instance of displacement, nor any stated Israeli policy, but a land registration exercise; an administrative record-keeping process that changes neither the size nor composition of any community.
Quite how Dr Allin-Khan is able to divine future mass displacement from what is, in essence, a bureaucratic filing exercise is something she neglects to explain.
The dire outcomes predicted in her letter have not occurred, are not occurring, and there is presently no Israeli plan for them to occur.
Indeed, the facts point in precisely the opposite direction.
Since 1967, the Palestinian population of Judea and Samaria has grown from approximately 600,000 to more than three million people, an increase of more than fivefold. The number of distinct Palestinian communities has likewise increased by more than twenty per cent and continues to grow.
These are not the indicators of a population facing the mass displacement envisaged in Dr Allin-Khan’s letter.
Members of Parliament are, of course, entitled to express views on international affairs. However, before advancing serious allegations against Israel, one might reasonably expect a degree of evidential rigour commensurate with the seriousness of those allegations. What they are not entitled to do is substitute speculation for evidence and then present the result as informed analysis.
The people of Tooting are entitled to expect better from their elected representative. So too is Parliament, and so too are the British public. Serious allegations should be supported by evidence, not speculation; by facts, not assumptions. Unfortunately, throughout this letter, conjecture is repeatedly presented as certainty, while routine administrative activity is transformed into evidence for dramatic future events that have neither occurred nor been proposed.
The National Jewish Assembly remains committed to a serious and fact-based discussion of the conflict, one rooted in reality rather than rhetoric and in evidence rather than conjecture.
The NJA is grateful to Daniel Pomerantz, Chief Executive of RealityCheck Research, for assisting in the verification and review of a number of the claims and assertions discussed in this response.
