MPs questioned the Government’s approach to the ongoing crisis in Gaza in the House of Commons on Tuesday, after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain would look at recognising a Palestinian state.
In a parliamentary session, MPs questioned minister of state for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Andrew Mitchell, on what steps the UK Government had taken to help secure a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, and whether any discussions had taken place with Mitchell’s Israeli counterpart on Israel’s political objectives in Gaza.
Speaking in the Commons, Mitchell (below) said: “We are calling for an immediate humanitarian pause to get aid in and hostages out, as a vital step towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.”
Regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state, Mitchell added: “We are clear that for a peaceful solution to this conflict, there must be a political horizon towards a two-state solution.
“Britain will recognise a Palestinian state at a time when it best serves the objective of peace.
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“Bilateral recognition alone cannot end the occupation.”
SNP spokesperson Brendan O’Hara (below) also addressed the Commons, saying that “Palestinian recognition is an inalienable right and is not a privilege to be conferred by others”.
O’Hara continued: “Although I was pleased to hear the Foreign Secretary say last night that the UK will, with allies, look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, I do fear we have been here before, most notably in 2014.
“Given Netanyahu’s categorical rejection of there being a Palestinian state, can I ask what are those next steps and when will we hear about it?
“How confident can we be that we won’t be sitting here in another 10 years wishing we’d acted to prevent a genocide?”
Mitchell responded: “The British Government’s policy has been very clear on the recognition of the state of Palestine. We are working extremely hard in the region and more widely internationally to secure a political tract.”
This response comes the day after Foreign Secretary David Cameron (below) said Britain will look at recognising a Palestinian state under diplomatic efforts to end the conflict with Israel.
He told a reception in London on Monday evening that the move would help to make a two-state solution – currently stalled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed to it – an “irreversible” process.
Cameron discussed the need to give the “Palestinian people a political horizon” under efforts to end the Israeli-Hamas war as he addressed a reception for Arab ambassadors in Parliament.
“We should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like – what it would comprise, how it would work,” he said.
“As that happens, we, with allies, will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations.
“This could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.”
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Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said it was a “significant” moment.
“It is the first time a UK Foreign Secretary considers recognising the State of Palestine, bilaterally and in the UN, as a contribution to a peaceful solution rather than an outcome,” the diplomat wrote on social media.
“A UK recognition is both a Palestinian right and a British moral, political, legal, and historical responsibility.
“If implemented, the Cameron Declaration would remove Israel’s veto power over Palestinian statehood, would boost efforts toward a two state outcome, and would begin correcting the historic injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people by colonial Britain’s Balfour declaration.”
Meanwhile, First Minister Humza Yousaf (below) is set to address EU ambassadors about the crisis in Gaza during a visit to London.
Yousaf is due to speak to representatives from all 27 European Union (EU) countries on Tuesday and is expected to reiterate his calls for a ceasefire.
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