Author Archives: Samer Sinijlawi

Towards a third way – a reformed, liberal Palestinian party

When I welcomed a delegation of British Liberal Democrats to Jerusalem and Ramallah last week, led by Gavin Stollar OBE and the Party’s Foreign Affairs lead, Calum Miller MP, I was reminded that politics, at its best, is not a transaction but a relationship. It is built on trust, curiosity and, above all, friendship.

In a region where suspicion is often the default setting, the simple act of sitting together – listening, disagreeing respectfully, and breaking bread – can itself feel radical. Our conversations were frank. They were searching. They were, at moments, uncomfortable. And they were deeply encouraging.

I write this for Lib Dem Voice because what I encountered was not a party looking for slogans, but a movement seeking understanding. The delegation came not to lecture, nor to posture for headlines, but to ask difficult questions: What do Palestinians owe to peace? What political renewal is possible? Where does responsibility truly lie? And who, among Palestinian actors, is capable of delivering a future compatible with liberal democratic values?

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 13 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Jason Connor
    How about the coastal and other towns left behind due to labour inertia? It's all well and good transforming Greater Manchester if you can call it that, but I h...
  • Peter Davies
    Those words at the beginning of the declaration were pretty disingenuous. It was obvious even at the time that they were incompatible with the rest of the decla...
  • TimL
    Thanks Alex and Chloe. FWIW I don't think these are resignation honours - I think it is just timing coincidence. Whether Starmer comes back with more resignatio...
  • Simon McGrath
    Oh dear. The UK is actually doing quite well for AI firms and investment here - would the state taking over some of the shares make that more or less likely to...
  • Simon McGrath
    Ironic that the first comment is anti semitic conspiracy theory. Alex missed out the part of the Balfour declaration "it being clearly understood that nothing...