Mr David Forde - The Palestinian homeland dilemma and the disappearing two-state solution

David Forde was born and educated in Dublin, Ireland and has lived in Australia since 1992. He is employed in the public service and married with two boys and another one on the way. He first became interested in the issue of Palestine and Israel when he served in 1982 with the Irish Army in South Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). He again served at various stages up till 1990. David established and is co-convener of an advocacy group within the Australian Labor Party known as, Labor 4A Just Palestine, which was formed due to lack of debate on this issue within the Australian Labor Party. He has a firm view that resolution to this conflict will lead to greater regional and world peace, including on issues relating to terrorism. He believes that Australians need to take a balanced view based on international law and UN Resolutions. David’s presentation is based on a trip to the region earlier this year that took in Lebanon, Jordan, Occupied Palestinian Territories (including Gaza) and Israel.