LONDON: The governing Labour Party chair of the foreign affairs committee is pushing for UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy to recognize Palestine as a state, the Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
MP Emily Thornberry said the move would be a “first step” if Lammy announced British recognition next month at a high-level conference co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.
It follows Lammy’s halting of trade talks with Israel and the summoning of the country’s ambassador in response to Tel Aviv’s renewed Gaza offensive.
Labour’s manifesto at the last general election said the party was “committed” to recognizing Palestine within the context of a two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long vowed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Thornberry told the Telegraph: “I think Britain and France should recognize Palestine at the New York conference chaired by Saudi Arabia in June.
“The two signatories of the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement, which created the borders of the Middle East as we see today, would be very powerful.
“It would be a first step in working multilaterally to update Oslo, build on the Arab Deal and create a new peace deal proposal.”
The conference in the US will be held from June 17-20, and aims to galvanize support for the two-state solution.
French diplomats have said the event will likely lead to more countries recognizing Palestine as a state.
David Cameron, who served as foreign secretary in the previous Conservative government, said last year that Britain was weighing whether to recognize Palestine.
In the UN, 139 of 193 member states recognize Palestine, while Israel is recognized by 165. In 2021, the UK abstained in a UN General Assembly vote that granted Palestine “non-member observer” status.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell said: “With the imminent catastrophic loss of life through starvation and military operations, the government must hesitate no longer in fully recognizing the state of Palestine.
“The reprehensible actions of the Israeli government must be held to account, so full sanctions and ceasing all arms sales must also take place immediately.”
Lammy, speaking in the House of Commons this week, condemned Israel’s expansion of the Gaza war as an “affront to the values of British people.” He added: “History will judge them.”
Lammy outlined a series of sanctions against Israeli settlers who are targeting Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
“Blocking aid, expanding the war, dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible and it must stop,” he said.
Some MPs say the government should take further action over the Gaza war, such as a complete arms embargo on Israel and sanctions on senior members of its government, including Netanyahu.
