Britain must recognise Palestine. It is a step towards upholding the Palestinian right of self-determination – a fundamental right under international law. Most UN member states have already recognised Palestine. Recognition cannot be dependent on negotiations, as the British Government has suggested, and it has waited too long for ‘the right time’.
The position of our two main political parties is to link recognition to a peace process which today does not exist. British Government recognition of Palestine should be the prelude to negotiations, and not depend on them.
Recognising the State of Palestine carries legal, political and moral weight. There can be no just solution without an independent Palestinian state in which the Palestinian people are free to live in security and shape their own future.
The US has vetoed the Palestinian request for recognition as a state at the UN. It is time for Britain to join its partners in Spain, Norway, Ireland and Slovenia, and do what it should have done decades ago – recognise the State of Palestine.
The right time is now.
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Call on our incoming Government for an immediate recognition of the State of Palestine
If elected, will you undertake to advocate for immediate British Government recognition of Palestine? There must be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel. But while ending the suffering is the priority, the incoming British Government should recognise the State of Palestine at once.
When the shooting stops, there needs to be a plan for a political solution that prevents any more violence. Upholding the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination is key. Britain deliberately withheld that right throughout the Mandate period, in breach of its legal obligations. It has yet to acknowledge its historic responsibility. Our Government must act in support of the Palestinian right to self-determination, enshrined in international law. Recognising the State of Palestine alongside Israel is one step towards realising that right.
The British Government formally recognised Israel in 1950 as a matter of right, not subject to negotiation. The same applies to Palestine today. Its existence is a right to be realised, not a gift to be given. It is non-negotiable. Our Government must not tie recognition to bilateral negotiations between Palestine and Israel.
To be serious about two States with equal rights, our Government should recognise both States and their territorial integrity. The State of Palestine comprises Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank – the territories that have been under Israeli military occupation since June 1967.
Israelis deserve security just as much as Palestinians. Yet as long as the Israeli Government seeks to control the Palestinian people by force and deny their right to self-determination, neither people is safe. Accountability is also essential. No individual and no State should be above the law. International law must apply with equal force to Israel and to Palestine. That means distinguishing between the territorial integrity of Israel within its internationally recognised borders (pre-June 1967) and its illegal settlement project in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank. Recognition of the state of Palestine entails working for Palestinian economic unity, free movement between Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian control of the borders of the state and mutual security for Palestine and Israel, with international guarantees.
As I consider for whom I shall vote on 4 July, I ask for your commitment to advocate for immediate British recognition of the state of Palestine. Please let me know.