Two-State Solution is the Only Way to End Mideast Conflict, British MP tells AWP
(AWP) - A British MP for the Liberal Democrat party welcomed the announcement of a temporary truce in the Gaza Strip, but stressed the need to extend it to a total ceasefire.
Moran said in an interview with AWP that she welcomes anything "that stops this horrific bombardment" saying, "This violence that has now lost thousands and thousands of lives, especially children, needs to stop. The position of my party, the Liberal Democrats, is that we need an immediate bilateral ceasefire. Immediate. And so, we welcome anything that makes it stop, but it's not enough. We need a permanent ceasefire. We need all the hostages released."
"We need to, as quickly as possible, move on to where we need to get to, which is recognition of the Palestinian state, two states, both people living with dignity and without fear. That is what we have to hold onto with every breath in our bodies. So, we are welcoming it, but it is absolutely just a first step. And we sincerely hope, as we've seen in times before, when you have a small stop, it doesn't lead to play, it goes more stopping, more stopping, more stopping, ceasefire, but we have to also be clear, ceasefire is not the end, the end is peace and that is different from ceasefire."
Moran also said that the British people have been deeply affected by the events in Gaza and want the situation brought to an end.
She said, "I can tell you that the British public are looking on at the humanitarian catastrophe, the hell that is happening in Gaza, and they have been so moved. They don't see what is happening there as the way forward. This is not the path to peace. This is not the path to two states, and they want it to stop. So, the debate here in the UK is very much about how we get to that point. We need to get the aid in, separately, not linked, we need the hostages out. But more than anything, what we need is for the killing of innocent Palestinians who have nothing to do with this, to be put at the heart of the solutions of what next."
Moran stressed that now is the time to work on reviving the two-state solution.
She added, "I would keep saying it doesn't stop here. We don't want to return to October the 6th. Now is the time to harness the energy, not just from the voters, but also in the international community to really deliver on that two-state solution. We've had enough talking. It's time for action."
The Liberal Democrat MP criticised the British Parliament’s vote against a ceasefire in Gaza.
"What we have been seeing in Parliament, driven by the government and Rishi Sunak, who have taken a broadly singular stance that is completely backing the United States and backing Israel, very little to be said for the Palestinian people, that rather than drawing the political parties together, what we have seen is division. So of course, I'm disappointed that we haven't got to the position where my party, the Liberal Democrats, are. And even the vote on the ceasefire I think was imperfect because it didn't even mention two states. What I'm working with is other parliamentarians to draw the communities together, to understand that the way we are going to get the British government to back things like ceasefire is to not divide people but bring them together."
Moran called on the British Prime Minister to take a more neutral position in this conflict, stressing that Britain's interest at the present time is to work to implement the two-state solution.
Over the past few weeks, Britain has witnessed a massive wave of protests demanding the government intervene to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets of London and outside the government headquarters in Downing Street to express their rejection of the government’s stance on the conflict.