The Labour party’s youth section has rejected a resolution calling for support for Israeli and Palestinian activists who campaign for a two-state solution.

Liron Velleman, Youth and Students Officer of the Jewish Labour Movement, tweeted he was disappointed that Young Labour’s national policy conference at Warwick University today “voted against the motion supporting mutual recognition of Israel & Palestine”.

The motion said “a prerequisite for peace and justice in the Middle East is a recognition of the right of both the Israeli and Palestinian people to national self-determination”.

While it called on a future Labour government to “recognise the state of Palestine”, it avoided any mention of boycott or sanctions against Israel.

It quoted the jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Baghouti as saying “I do not seek to destroy Israel but only to end its occupation of my country”.

One former Labour party staff member called the defeat of the motion on Twitter as "absolutely ridiculous".

Abdi Duale, BAME (British, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) officer for London Young Labour, tweeted in the aftermath of the vote, saying that “#YL17 have voted against a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Absolutely ridiculous.”

Mr Velleman told the JC that he was “disappointed to see a motion that supported the mutual recognition of Israel and Palestine fall at Young Labour Conference… Whilst there were issues raised with the motion, the debate was not one of constructiveness and nuance but instead an attack on Israel’s legitimacy.”

However, he pointed out that the JLM had run “another successful training session on Combatting Antisemitism and Understanding Jewish Voters” at the two-day event, and said he was “delighted that Youth Conference unanimously voted in favour of the Jewish Labour Movement motion on re-opening the Dubs Amendment and supporting unaccompanied child refugees.”