In person, Andy Burnham appears jovial and unassuming. But in terms of foreign policy, he is starting to look tough and decisive.
He spent this week offering Ukraine classified technical information for long-range missiles, triggering sabre-rattling about retaliation from the Kremlin. There are reports that he is now about to announce sanctions on Israeli settlements. These are hints of a newly confident approach to international affairs.
The key issue in the Israeli agenda is the settlement programme close to East Jerusalem, known as E1. In terms of territory, it is relatively modest, covering just three per cent of the occupied West Bank, but its ramifications are profound. The land connects Jerusalem to the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and makes a future Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem impossible.
It is a deeply cynical project. A Palestinian state is anyway difficult to imagine, because of the separation between Gaza and the West Bank. E1 goes further and effectively separates the West Bank from itself.
The project has been condemned by almost everyone. It is hard to think of a more broadly and consistently criticised policy in modern international relations. The plans have been condemned by Austria, Australia, Canada, Egypt, the European Commission, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, among others. Even Donald Trump gets nervous when he sees Israel’s intentions in the West Bank.
