Our charity has long argued for the unconditional recognition of the state of Palestine alongside Israel – an acknowledgment of the inherent right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and a long overdue expression of Britain’s commitment to equal rights for both peoples.
We must welcome yesterday’s announcement by the Prime Minister that Britain will join France in recognising the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in late September. But the conditionality attached to it by Keir Starmer is deeply mistaken. Palestinian rights are not – and can never be – made conditional on Israeli good behaviour. The government is treating a moral obligation as a bargaining chip.
Recognition of Palestine is not a threat or punishment for Israel. On the contrary, an outcome based on equal rights and mutual security is in the interest of both peoples. That is the political lodestar we in the UK must follow. And that is also why we demand the government not backtrack on recognition in the coming months. Nor must it allow itself to become hostage to Israeli domestic politics.
Britain recognises states, not governments. So, the future of Hamas is irrelevant to our government’s recognition of Palestine. So, ultimately, is Israel. The measures Israel and Hamas are being called upon to take, above all an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, are essential in their own right.
As these are international obligations, they should be undertaken promptly, regardless of pressure brought to bear by other states. Failure to comply should subject Israel to sanctions that impose a tangible cost.
Unconditional recognition with France in New York in September is the way forward. That will encourage Commonwealth partners Australia and Canada to join the group, along with Belgium, Luxembourg and other European states. Working together, they can help shift Israeli calculations and bring about an end to occupation.
Our government should heed the views of the British public: Britons support Palestinian statehood by three to one. The government should respond to this sentiment at this crucial moment in the history of a long, painful conflict, one for which we bear great historical as well as contemporary responsibility, by recognising Palestine without preconditions.
A step forward has been taken but there is still a long way to go.
Andrew Whitley
Chair, Britain Palestine Project