09/09/2026
๐๏ธ Speaking to LBC this morning, BICOMโs Chief Executive Richard Pater explained the historical context of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
๐๐ช๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฉ โฌ๏ธ
โIn the bitter twist of the historic irony, the Judean Samaria, the West Bank, is the cradle of Jewish civilization. Ironically, again, when the British declared the Balfour Declaration 100 years ago, plus, it covered the whole area of what we now know as Israel, the Palestinian areas of West Bank, and the state of Jordan.
โSo, ironically, historically, it was the Jews that were settled on the mountain ridge in the centre, and actually the Philistines that the Palestinians took the name from that were there on the coastal plain.
โSo, the idea of Zionism, of the return of the Jews to a sovereign country, is connected both to modern-day Israel but also the West Bank. But clearly, we have two populations living there.
โThere are both Jews and an indigenous Arab and Palestinian population. And I think the challenge for all of us over the last century and going forward is how you, in a peaceful way, accommodate both peoples.
โAnd I think on that principle, the Brits are absolutely right that the two-state solution aspirationally should be there as a goal. But targeting one side and placing sanctions just on one side that go along to a whole series of measures that the British government have implemented since coming into power over the last two years, including the recognition of a Palestinian state, which unfortunately doesn't yet exist, and other measures against Israel have really soured relations quite significantly.โ
