Bowen: UK move to recognise Palestinian state is a diplomatic crowbar to revive peace process
Israel's rejection came minutes after Keir Starmer finished speaking in Downing Street. Later in the evening, Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a fiercely worded denunciation on social media."Starmer rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims. A jihadist state on Israel's border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.""Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen."Netanyahu denies Israel has caused starvation and catastrophe in Gaza. Had he accepted Britain's conditions for a postponement, his government would have disintegrated. He depends on the support of ultra nationalist extremists who want to annex the occupied territories and force Palestinians out, not grant them independence.But Netanyahu is not their prisoner. He built a career opposing the two-state solution, the idea that peace can be built by creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Earlier this month he said a Palestinian state would be a 'launchpad' for more 7 October style attempts to destroy Israel.Netanyahu will be hoping for the strong backing of the US government. Its position is that recognising a Palestinian state now rewards Hamas terrorism.Donald Trump told reporters as he flew back to the US after his golfing interlude in Scotland that he didn't support Britain's move.The issue of Palestinian sovereignty could become another factor cracking apart transatlantic relations.Until the last few weeks Keir Starmer was not convinced the time was right to recognise Palestine. But pictures of Palestinian children in Gaza starving to death were the last straw after so much killing and devastation.Attitudes hardened in Downing Street and the Foreign Office, as well as in the Labour party and more widely in the UK.Britain's decision to join France in recognising Palestine is another sign of Israel's increasing diplomatic isolation. Two of its major western allies, the UK and France, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, have dismissed Israel's attempt to block their recognition of Palestine when the General Assembly meets in New York in September.
In New York just after Starmer's statement, David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, was given a big round of applause when he announced Britain's decision at the UN's conference on a two-state solution and recognition of a Palestinian state.His dismissed the accusation that Palestinian independence could be lethal for Israel."There is no contradiction between support for Israel's security and support for Palestinian statehood. Indeed, the opposite is true.""Let me be clear: the Netanyahu government's rejection of a two-state solution is wrong – it's wrong morally and it's wrong strategically."A British official said the atmosphere was electric as Lammy told the delegates that the UK's announcement was being made "with the hand of history on our shoulders." Lammy went on to delve into Britain's imperial past in Palestine which is deeply intertwined with the roots of the conflict between Jews and Arabs for control of the land Britain once ruled.Britain captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in 1917 and controlled Palestine until in 1948, exhausted and out of ideas to deal with what was then a full-scale war between Arabs and Jews, it handed over responsibility to the UN and left Palestine. Immediately, Israel's first prime minister David Ben Gurion declared independence, and Israel defeated an invasion by Arab armies.At the UN David Lammy recalled how Arthur Balfour, his predecessor as foreign secretary had in 1917 signed a typewritten letter promising to 'view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.'But the document, known as the Balfour Declaration, also stated "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish communities in Palestine." It did not use the word Arab, but that is what was meant.Lammy said Britain can be proud of the way it helped lay Israel's foundations, But the promise to Palestinians, Lammy said, was not kept, and that "is a historical injustice which continues to unfold."Britain's conflicting promises fuelled and shaped the conflict. A time traveller going back a century to Palestine in the 1920s would find the tension and violence depressingly familiar.The way the UK hopes to end the misery in Gaza, create peace in the Middle East and remedy the historical injustice Lammy described is to revive the two-state solution.The conference in New York at which he was speaking was chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. It has produced a seven-page document aimed at creating a way ahead to revive the two-state solution, which includes condemnation by Arab states of Hamas and its 7 October attacks on Israel.The window for peace through the two-state solution appeared to be locked shut after the collapse of the peace process that started with real hope in the 1990s.Britain's decision to recognise Palestine is a diplomatic crowbar to try to reopen it.
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Metro
5 minutes ago
- Metro
Protesters clash outside London migrant hotel
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Protesters from opposing sides are clashing outside a central London hotel, which houses migrants. Hundreds have gathered to protest against the Thistle City Hotel in Islington used to home migrants, which has also sparked a major counter-protest. People from Stand Up To Racism attracted a crowd with dozens of 'smash racism' placards and chants of 'Nazi scum off our streets,' while across the road anti-migrant group Patriots of Britain supporters flew Union Jack flags and chanted 'pedophiles' at the counter protest. Police have thrown a ring of steel around the hotel and are separating the two groups with hundreds of officers at the scene. Stand Up To Racism national officer Samira Ali, 25, said: 'We are here today to show our opposition to the far right who are trying to whip up hatred against refugees. 'We want Keir Starmer to stop blaming migrants for all our problems and stop appearing Reform. From the government's point of view they could start putting in place safe routes and make society welcoming for refugees.' Among the anti-migrant protesters, Epping resident Debbie Jones said she had come to the protest as she had previously lived in the area and believed it has become 'unsafe' for women and girls due to the migrant hotel. The 65-year-old said: 'I used to play on my own here until it was dark – now I would let my nine-year-old granddaughter out. 'We're surrounded by undocumented, inverter men who are coming over and assaulting our young girls. It's been happening in Epping. 'The first step is putting the Royal Navy in the Channel and stopping the boats. The second step is putting all the migrants in an army camp.' Debbie added that she did believe that migrants and refugees did deserve to be 'looked after' – and she had sympathy for refugees' plight as her Jewish grandparents had fled the Nazis in Germany during the Second World War. She said: 'We can be a generous country. I wouldn't be here if we hadn't let in my grandparents. You can come from Mars for all I care. But when you come here abide by our laws and you assimilate.' Luke Daniels, who has lived a short walk from the hotel for more than 40 years, said: 'This community has lived in harmony for a long time. In all that time there has not been any incidents of racist attacks – and we want to keep it that way.' Responding to other residents concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour from some hotel occupants, Luke said: 'There has always been anti social behaviour, it's been going on a long time. It's not surprising that some are committing bad behaviour but alot of them are coming from war zones.' The Islington resident believe that migrants in hotels should be allowed to work and that this would help integration. He said: 'Most of the migrants are fit. Let them contribute to society.' Paul Melbourne, 44, was campaigning against the hotel being used to house migrants and said it was a 'disgrace.' He said: 'They drag the area down. There's been an awful lot of problems and issues since they arrived. Crime has increased. Everyone is on edge.' Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, addressed the crowd with a speech against politicians 'appeasing fascism.' She said: 'We don't want politicians who appease racists, we don't want politicians who appease fascists, you're not fooling us.' Shortly after, dozens of police had to move swiftly to contain a hundred-strong group of anti-racism activists, many wearing black masks and flying Palestine flags, which broke away from the main group and was headed towards the anti-migrant crowd. They were yelling and shouting abuse. More Trending Anti-racist protesters – kettled by a half dozen police vans and dozens of officers- confronted the police with chants of 'Who do you serve, who do you protect'. Other chants included 'Where's your Tommy gone -far, far away', referencing Tommy Robinson leaving the UK as police look to speak to him about a suspected assault in St Pancras last week. Toni Hine, a 42-year-old receptionist who has lived in nearby Golden Lane her whole life, addressed the anti-migrant protesters, calling for the government to shut down the hotel. She said: 'I don't blame them in the hotel. I blame the government. They don't live here, they're not dealing with the issue.' It comes after hundreds of far-right protesters surrounded a hotel which once housed asylum seekers. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: This 'useless' Tube line is home to London's most expensive mortgages MORE: Oasis setlist in full and stage times as Gallagher brothers' London tour continues MORE: London's 'quaint' borough is the cheapest to rent at £1,485 — but it might not be for long
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
‘I have never been an activist': Meet the pensioners risking prison to support Palestine Action
In an interrogation room just after 1am, 68-year-old grandmother-of-seven Marji Mansfield was sat across from counter terrorism officers after being arrested at a pro-Palestine protest in central London. She had suffered days of poor sleep in anticipation of this eventuality. Now, an 'aggressive' man was asking her repeatedly if she sympathised with a terrorist organisation, leading her through an extensive list of questions about her politics and who she knew in Gaza. A few hours earlier, on the afternoon of 5 July, half a dozen officers had handcuffed the pensioner and hauled her off the ground and into a police van, alongside her 73-year-old husband. The couple who once described themselves as small 'c' Conservatives had travelled to the capital up from near Chichester for the protest, declining to tell their children what they were about to do. It was only a day later that their son realised what had happened after he saw her in the news, suspended and flanked by the large group of officers. She had been following the conflict in the Middle East since the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2014, but only became an active protester after former home secretary Suella Braverman branded peaceful protesters as 'hate marchers' in November 2023. 'I have never been political or an activist. I was just an ordinary, middle-England person,' she says. 'But then I became outraged.' She said she was 'shocked' by the events of 7 October, when Hamas militants broke into Israel and killed around 1,200 people, taking 251 more hostage. 'But the actions that subsequently followed, where entire families are being wiped out, I had to join those urging for a ceasefire now,' she adds. More than 60,000 Palestinians are believed to have been killed since Israel launched its retaliatory aerial and ground offensive in Gaza. Humanitarian organisations have warned that, with not nearly enough aid entering the enclave, the 2.3 million residents of Gaza are now being effectively starved. Sir Keir Starmer this week warned that Britain would recognise the Palestinian state if Israel did not end its 'appalling' war in Gaza. He urged Israel to work towards a ceasefire and a two-state solution. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir of 'rewarding Hamas's monstrous terrorism'. Ms Mansfield dismissed Sir Keir's move as 'performative rather than substantial'. Fighting her own battle for Gaza, the pensioner was arrested under Section 12 and 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for holding up a placard that said: 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action'. The charges carry a possible maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The protest group Palestine Action had just been proscribed as a terrorist organisation, after they claimed responsibility for activists spraying red paint on fighter jets at RAF Brize Norton, making it illegal to support them. It put the group in the same legal ranks as Isis, Al-Qaeda and Hamas, leading critics to accuse the government of heavy-handedness. Ms Mansfield had known it was a possibility she would get arrested, but had no idea how the police would actually react when she and dozens of others held up placards in support of Palestine Action outside the Houses of Parliament. It was the first of what would be weekly protests, all of which resulted in arrests. As the police interview with an exhausted Ms Mansfield drew to a close around 2am, after more than 60 questions had been asked, the counter terrorism officer made one final remark. 'Look, even if you get hundreds of people, thousands of people, we're 30,000 strong,' Ms Mansfield recounts him saying. 'We'll put all our resources, and not just police forces, into arresting and interrogating you.' Then he let the 'traumatised' pensioner go free, hundreds of miles from home. She was not charged with a crime. A total of 385 MPs voted in favour of the unprecedented move to criminalise Palestine Action. Only 26 dissented. Announcing the vote, home secretary Yvette Cooper said that while the right to protest and to free speech form 'the cornerstone of our democracy', Palestine Action was guilty of 'violence and serious criminal damage' that does not constitute 'legitimate protest'. As a result, Palestine Action was proscribed alongside a white supremacist, neo-Nazi organisation called Maniacs Murder Cult and a pro-Kremlin ethno-nationalist organisation which seeks to create a new Russian Imperial State. Critics and human rights activists quickly accused the government of infringing upon people's right to protest after the proscription. In a letter to Ms Cooper, the Network for Police Monitoring said: 'Misusing terrorism legislation in this way against a protest group sets a dangerous precedent, threatens our democratic freedoms, and would be a terrifying blow to our civil liberties.' Several United Nations human rights experts, meanwhile, said criminal damage that does not endanger life was not 'sufficiently serious to qualify as terrorism'. On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Palestine Action would be allowed to challenge the Home Office in court over its proscription, but it could be months until a result. The outrage over the move has increased as more protesters are arrested. Private Eye editor Ian Hislop branded the arrest in Leeds on 19 July of 67-year-old Jon Farley, for holding up a printout of the magazine's front page that questioned the proscription, as 'mind-boggling'. Mr Farley has not been charged. The case was cited by Mr Justice Chamberlain on Wednesday as a reason to allow Palestine Action to fight the proscription. He said it was evidence of the 'chilling effect' the proscription was having 'on those wishing to express legitimate political views'. In total, more than 200 people have been detained since the ban. Not a single person in England and Wales has been charged. The large majority are over 60, according to Tim Crosland, a former government lawyer who now campaigns for Defend Our Juries, an organisation supporting many of the detainees. He says some of the protesters are 'well into their 80s'. The police are aware of these optics. Ms Mansfield claims her male counter terrorism interrogator even asked her at one stage: 'Was this a conspiracy to make the police look bad?' The reality, she says, is simpler: the seriousness of terrorism charges is a significant disincentive to younger protesters at the start of their careers; for pensioners determined to take a stance, it is the perfect opportunity to step up. Robert Lee, 61, another protester arrested on 5 July but not charged, who later went to support demonstrators in Bristol, says he remembers one 83-year-old woman gleefully telling him that police were too afraid to arrest her 'because they are terrified I might die in custody'. But the crowds of pensioner protesters are nonetheless peppered with younger demonstrators, a reality they say nods to the broad spectrum of opposition to the proscription of Palestine Action. For Zara Ali, 18, among the youngest people to have been arrested, her involvement felt especially high stakes. She was already on bail for conspiracy to cause public nuisance after blocking a road in March. She has not been charged. 'I was told to prepare myself for prison,' she says, admitting that she was very 'anxious' when she arrived in Parliament Square for her 19 July protest. 'But at the end of the day, I had it in my mind that this is not about me but about Palestine, and about every single political prisoner who is being held.' The Independent spoke to half a dozen protesters for this piece, all of whom mentioned their 'disgust' with Israel's war on Gaza as the primary motivation for their involvement. Claims that the proscription pointed to a 'dystopian' future in Britain were also commonly cited as key motivation.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Top cabinet ministers at risk of losing seats even after Starmer recognises Palestinian state, pollsters warn
Sir Keir Starmer 's historic decision to recognise Palestinian statehood later this year will not be enough to stop some of his top cabinet ministers from facing major battles to hang on to their seats, leading pollsters have warned. Health secretary Wes Streeting and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood are among those who could be ousted from parliament at the next general election, the UK's top pollster Sir John Curtice warned, in the face of major challenges from pro-Gaza candidates. Sir Keir lost a key member of his top team, Jonathan Ashworth, to a pro-Palestine independent candidate at the last election. Mr Streeting was among those who held his seat, but saw his majority in his Ilford constituency slashed from 5,198 in 2019 to just 528. But pollsters now warn anger over the issue of Palestine, which Jeremy Corbyn's newly announced political party will attempt to capitalise on, could see Mr Streeting and other high-profile casualties from the cabinet. Labour pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in its manifesto before the last general election, and Sir Keir this week bowed to growing pressure from his own MPs – and some high-profile members of the cabinet – to lay out a plan to recognise the state of Palestine. Asked if the move on Palestinian statehood could help save Mr Streeting and Ms Mahmood next time around, Sir John told the Independent that it 'may not be sufficient given the current condition of the Labour Party'. Luke Tryl, from pollsters More in Common, was more blunt. 'No,' he said. Sir John added that it was clear that Starmer had also 'lost out' on votes in his own constituency last year because of the issue, although the PM's majority is significantly larger than some of his cabinet colleagues. After promising to tackle Labour's antisemitism crisis when he came to power, Sir John summed up the PM's problem: 'Here is somebody who spent a great deal of time and effort trying to reconnect with the Jewish community, and now he's finding himself having to spend a great deal of effort trying to reconnect with the Muslim community. It is very difficult to keep himself on board with both groups at the moment.' Mr Tryl said the war in Gaza had uncovered 'deeper' problems for Labour. 'When we have done focus groups with voters in Muslim areas, particularly some of those who backed or were thinking about backing pro-Gaza independent candidates, I compared it to speaking to voters in the red wall after Brexit,' he said. 'In the sense that Brexit was the thing which caused the split, but it actually brought to the fore much deeper resentments - that they have been taken from granted, ignored, left behind by Labour … I think we're going to see exactly the same thing with Muslim voters.' Mr Corbyn confirmed his party would campaign heavily on Palestine when he launched it last week. Sir John said that the polling suggested that the new party would take the most votes from the Greens, followed by Labour. But he added, when it came to a new party run by their ex-leader: 'Given that Labour, even without Corbyn being put onto the hypothetical ballot, are behind Reform, they don't really want this.' Sir John said the Palestine announcement could be seen, in one way, as an example of Labour's problem connecting with the wider electorate. Asked what the party could do to win back voters across the board, he said: 'Explain to people what you are about. It's the point that everybody's making now. This is a government that has no known direction. And of course, some people are painting (the Palestine move) as yet another example of policy change. 'In terms of substance, (Labour should) turn around the economy and make sure that the health service doesn't have long waiting lists. It's not complicated, just very, very difficult to do.'
