The British must formally – and swiftly – recognise Palestine as a sovereign state
On his last visit to Israel in March 2014,
David Cameron spoke in only the most positive terms as he addressed the
Israeli parliament, outlining his vision of a solution to the
Israel-Palestine conflict.
“Imagine what this land would be like if a two-state solution was
actually achieved. Think of all the aspects of life that would change,”
he said. “Israel’s relationships with the world. Its security, its
long-term prosperity and the quality of life for all its people.”
One might infer from those words that Cameron, prime minister of an
inclusive, liberal and democratic Britain, was speaking in desperation:
as long as there is no two-state solution
in sight, he was saying, Israel will forever be denied the
international standing, the security and the prosperity it rightfully
expects and deserves. It would also endanger its own liberal and
democratic foundations.
In stark contrast to the vision set out that day by Cameron, Israeli
advocates of peace, equality and democracy have been horribly dispirited
of late. Forced evictions of Palestinian farmers from their land in the
Jordan Valley and from the Hebron district – to make room for more
settlements – clashes between settlers and soldiers, the burning of a
church, the stabbing of a 16-year-old girl at the Jerusalem gay pride parade, and the murder of 18-month-old Ali Dawabshe,
along with his father and mother, as a result of a deliberate arson
attack by extremist settlers in the Palestinian village of Duma: it’s
added up to a period of real bleakness.
An Israeli tradition has developed in which the immediate response to
terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians is the construction of new
homes in the Israeli settlements of the West Bank. There was something
of this same spirit in the response to the recent order from the Israeli
supreme court to raze two illegal buildings in the settlement of Beit
El: the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, announced that 300 new housing units would be built in the West Bank, in addition to implementing plans for 500
additional new units in East Jerusalem. Netanyahu felt compelled to
respond with action, in order to appease the nationalist zealots in his
coalition.
By the same token, the attack on the home of the Dawabshe family
should be answered not only with condemnations, but with action. The
most decent, fair and effective move is to recognise a Palestinian state
and accept it as a full member of the UN.
Palestinians decry Israel after Riham Dawabsheh’s death – video
A few months ago, with her appointment as Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely
told the Israeli diplomatic corps that there is no need to apologise to
the world, or even to clarify Israel’s diplomatic and security
policies. Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) were given to us by God, she
said, and once the public understands that, the world will stop
condemning us for the occupation and the settlements.
A significant part of the Israeli public believes this assertion. And
so Hotovely and her colleagues conclude that Israeli and international
law do not apply in the case of the West Bank. The Israeli supreme court
is even threatened by extreme rightwing nationalists who believe that
damaging Palestinian property and attacking Palestinians is permissible
when it comes to enforcing what they believe is a divine promise.
Europe must understand the direction in which we are heading. We are
racing towards a single Israeli-Palestinian state that will end up as
the apartheid state of Israel.
Such a joint state will not allow the Palestinians to exercise their
full civil rights. Europe and the UK must speak up in order to save the
two-state idea. Their leaders need to say to Israel: “This land is not
exclusively yours. It also belongs to another indigenous people that
have been living there for centuries: the Palestinians. We recognise
this people’s right to share this land and its right to an independent
state.”
On the eve of Netanyahu’s reciprocal visit to the UK, our message to
Cameron is this: agonised by years of political stagnation, President Mahmoud Abbas is
desperately keeping the Palestinian people on an even keel, investing
his meagre political currency in restraining any violent resistance to
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In recent
months this relative security has turned volatile. Any day could lead to
an eruption of violence. Europe needs to vigorously step in, without
delay, and apply pressure to both protagonists of this conflict, but
above all to Israel as the occupying power, to engage in transforming
Israeli-Palestinian relations from occupation to neighbourliness. Peace
will, we believe, soon follow. The road to a breakthrough goes through
unconditional international recognition of Palestine as a sovereign
state without delay.
Last October,
the British parliament voted in favour of a symbolic resolution,
calling for unconditional recognition of the state of Palestine, not
as a result of peace negotiations with Israel but rather as a conduit
to it. The British government should follow its parliament’s
recommendation and formally recognise the state of Palestine. Sweden did so one year ago,
and France is seriously considering this option. Renewed momentum for
recognition in Europe will keep the idea of two states alive. It will
clarify to the growing camp of supporters of a single state, in Israel
and in Palestine, that the world will not give up on the two-state idea. • Comments on this article will remain open for 24 hours and may be turned off overnight (UK time)
No comments:
Post a Comment