The lauded Israeli diplomat Abba Eban once noted of the Palestinian leadership: they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. His comments were made following the failure of yet another round of peace talks (Geneva, 1973) between Israel and the Palestinians – a dilemma that plagues politicians around the world to this day.

As for Ed Miliband and his Labour Party, they never miss an opportunity to go to war with themselves. In a backbench business debate today, Labour will rip itself apart on the issue of Israel and Palestine. The MP Grahame Morris has put forward a motion, in the House of Commons: “This House urges the government to recognise the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel”.

The motion, which is against official Labour Party policy, ignores decades of peace talks and would undermine all international efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians. It is also being presented as a “major vote”, when, in fact, it is purely a symbolic one – it is non-binding and has no implications for British foreign policy.

None the less, Mr Miliband has tied himself in knots trying to avoid any embarrassment over the issue. He has issued a bizarre three-line whip for the vote, which normally requires members to go along with the leadership. So, if any Labour MPs are in the Commons, they’ll be expected to vote in favour of Mr Morris’s proposition – thereby disregarding the current Labour commitment to the two-state solution.

However, some of Labour’s shadow cabinet and senior backbenchers have also been told that they can steer clear of Parliament today, and thus avoid having to obey the whip. So, basically, any senior pro-Israeli Labour MPs won’t turn up. Meanwhile, Mr Morris – who has also been in the news recently for comparing the flag of the State of Israel to a Nazi symbol – is given free rein to damage decades of hard work towards peace.

Read the article in full at the Telegraph.