This is a guest post by Stephen Hoffman
Dear Peter (Peter Lilley MP),
I hope you are well.
I am writing to you today to ask if you would be happy to make written representations on my behalf to Baroness Anelay, the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with responsibility for the UN.
The issue which I’m concerned about that I would greatly appreciate if you could raise on my behalf with Baroness Anelay is the forthcoming UN vote on giving recognised NGO status to the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC). The vote itself is taking place between 20-22 July at ECOSOC (The UN Economic and Social Council) and the UK has a vote at this specific UN Council.
The PRC is banned by Israel because there is strong and credible evidence to back the Israeli Government’s claims that it’s Hamas’s organisational branch in Europe with leading members of the PRC being senior Hamas Leaders who promote Hamas’s agenda in Europe. I find this particularly concerning considering that it is Hamas’s stated aim to destroy Israel and within its charter it treats the antisemitic forgery of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as fact. Furthermore, on many occasions both recently and further in the past, senior Hamas officials have made vile antisemitic statements.
At a time when antisemitism is on the rise in the UK and across Europe as a report I produced for the centre right think tank Parliament Street highlighted (which I link to here) it would be a sorry state of affairs if the UN gave any credence to the PRC due to its role within Hamas of spreading its hateful antisemitic creed across the length and breadth of Europe.
Additionally, it is not just the Israeli Government who has raised concerns about the PRC. According to credible reports from the Daily Telegraph, it has regularly hosted Hamas leaders including Ismail Haniyeh, at its annual conferences.
In light of the Government’s recognition of Hamas as an antisemitic terrorist group which does not seek peace between Israelis and Palestinians, I think it would be a grave mistake for the UK to vote to give official UN recognised NGO status to the PRC. Moreover, given that I believe the UK continues to play a key role in world affairs including in the UK, I believe that the UK should use their influence to encourage nation from across the world stopping the UN giving the PRC the legitimacy it craves, but does not deserve.
I realise that you are incredibly busy at the moment but I would greatly appreciate it if you could convey my thoughts on this matter to Baroness Anelay. If I could receive a copy of any response you receive I would be extremely grateful.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Stephen Hoffman
Stephen Hoffman is the Director of Middle East Studies for Parliament Street. He tweets at @thehoff102. He encourages those living in the UK to write to their MP on this matter.
