2024-04-01 10:04:33
The British Foreign Ministry disavowed the outcomes of an academic symposium for government employees and employees of the British diplomatic corps, which caused a storm of controversy, due to the positions made by distinguished academics who criticized British foreign policy.
In detail, four academics, led by Professor Jerwin Gunning from King’s College in London, held a symposium for 100 government employees and others working in the British diplomatic corps about the war in Gaza, organized by the ministry’s chief Middle East analyst, Martin Hetherington.
According to Monte Carlo International, Gunning said at the symposium that describing Hamas fighters as terrorists is an obstacle to peace, and that Israel is a white settler colonial nation.
In direct contradiction to British foreign policy, Professor Gunning told British Foreign Office officials that there could be no future without Hamas.
Dr Tristan Dunning, from the University of Queensland, one of the lecturers at the symposium, said the Hamas attack should be seen as “resistance” to the Israeli occupation.
The lecturers previously co-wrote a paper arguing that Britain’s tough policy on Hamas contributed to provoking the October 7 attacks, and that Israel was partly responsible for those attacks.
Following the seminar and its feedback, a State Department spokesperson pledged to review the guidelines for internal seminars, to ensure the suitability of invited speakers.
Another ministry spokesman said: “The UK government’s position is clear and unequivocal: Hamas is a terrorist organization. Many of the views expressed by academics at the symposium were wrong and contradicted the government’s position.”
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination, including anti-Semitism,” he added. “We are reviewing the guidance on internal seminars to ensure that invited speakers are appropriate.”
Those protesting what was mentioned during the symposium recalled what Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said, that if Hamas is left in charge of even part of Gaza, there will never be room for implementing the two-state solution.
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2024-04-01 10:04:33