![Sir Alan Duncan attends a Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of The Right Honourable Baroness Betty Boothroyd at St Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey on January 16, 2024 in London, England. [Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GettyImages-1930878349-1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Former UK Foreign Minister, Sir Alan Duncan, has denounced Conservative leadership candidate, Robert Jenrick, as an “extremist” over his stance on Israel-Palestine, warning he “would be a disaster if he were leader of the Conservative party”.
In a candid interview with Palestine Deep Dive, Duncan criticised Jenrick’s pledge to personally “build brick by brick” a British embassy in Jerusalem if the Foreign Office refused to move it. Duncan stated that Jenrick – who has made alarming statements in support of Israel including a call to jail Muslims who say Allahu Akbar – “does not believe in any kind of two-state solution although he says he does” and “takes his script entirely from the Conservative Friends of Israel.”
The former minister expressed broader concerns about the influence of pro-Israel groups on Conservative Party policy, suggesting that foreign policy is “deeply influenced by the Conservative Friends of Israel and the donor flows that go with it.”
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Reflecting on Israel’s decades long illegal Occupation, Duncan noted that when he entered politics 30 years ago, there were 40,000 settlers in the West Bank, compared to approximately 700,000 today. He argued this expansion has made a two-state solution “almost impossible”.
“Israel should get out of Palestine because it is not their country,” Duncan stated, emphasising that while Israel is a legal country that should be respected, “it’s got to behave properly and behave properly within its own borders.”
The former minister also criticised what he called a lack of understanding among parliamentarians about the region’s history and complexities, noting that many in Parliament “have no real experience of the region” and “haven’t really learned the history.”
After being cleared of anti-Semitism in July, Duncan called on his party to root out the “poison” of the pro-Israel lobby.
Duncan has been a major target of the Israeli lobby. A 2017 Al Jazeera documentary uncovered an Israeli plot to remove Duncan and a number of other UK politicians from office because of their criticism of Israel.
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