News Agency
\nLONDON
\nThe UK government is under pressure from senior Labour figures to recognize Palestinian statehood.
\nAhead of a UN conference on a two-state solution in New York next month, Labour peer and Holocaust survivor Lord Dubs said such a move would strengthen the Palestinians\u2019 hand in future peace talks with Israel, and would give them \u201cself-respect.\u201d
\nHe told The Guardian: \u201cEven if it doesn\u2019t lead to anything immediately, it would still give Palestinians a better standing.\u201d
\nLord Hain, a former government minister, said \u201cdelaying recognition until negotiations are concluded simply allows Israel\u2019s illegal occupation to become permanent,\u201d and recognition should be \u201ca catalyst, not a consequence\u201d of peace negotiations.
\nThe UN conference could see both the UK and France formally recognize a Palestinian state. Saudi Arabia, which is co-chairing the conference with France, urged countries to view Palestinian statehood as \u201ca precondition for peace, and not its product.\u201d
\nFrance and Saudi Arabia say the aim of the conference is not \u201cto \u2018revive\u2019 or to \u2018relaunch\u2019 another endless process, but to implement, once and for all, the two-state solution.\u201d
\nThey have asked participants \u201cto highlight the actions they are willing to undertake, individually or collectively, in fulfilment of their obligations and in support of the international consensus on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the two-state solution.\u201d
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron has previously hinted that his government would join the 147 states that already recognize Palestine.
\nUK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament that discussions are underway with French counterparts over recognition, but that Britain is angling for more than just a symbolic gesture at the conference.
\nEarlier in May, 69 Labour politicians \u2014 including a number of government ministers \u2014 signed a letter drafted by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to recognize Palestine, in what they called a \u201cunique window of opportunity.\u201d
\nLabour MP Alex Ballinger, a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: \u201cWe can no longer speak in platitudes about two states while blocking the very steps that could help make one of them real.\u201d
\nAfzal Khan, a former Labour shadow minister, said: \u201cRecognition would now be a positive first step towards securing a peaceful two-state solution, end unlawful settlement expansions and blockades, and unlock the diplomatic and humanitarian pathways to lasting justice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Agency LONDON The UK government is under pressure from senior Labour figures to recognize Palestinian statehood. Ahead of a UN conference on a two-state solution in New York next month, Labour peer and Holocaust survivor Lord Dubs said such a move would strengthen the Palestinians\u2019 hand in future peace talks with Israel, and would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-480661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n