‘WE need the recognition of the State of Palestine immediately, Mr Starmer, don’t wait one more day,’ Husam Zomlot, Palestinian Ambassador the UK said yesterday.
He issued the demand after US President Donald Trump announced that he plans to take over Gaza after expelling its entire population.
At a joint press conference with prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said Washington would take over control of the Gaza Strip with the use of American troops to create a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, with displaced Palestinians to be ‘resettled’ elsewhere.
His remarks immediately sparked global condemnation, with European allies, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, rejecting the displacement of Palestinians and reiterating their calls for a two-state solution.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that ‘Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom’s position in “a clear and explicit manner” that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.’
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for a swift reconstruction of the territory ‘without the Palestinians leaving’.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said relocating Palestinians from Gaza is something ‘neither we nor the region can accept. It is wrong to even bring it up for discussion.’
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said: ‘I want to be very clear on this: Gaza is the land of Gazan Palestinians and they must stay in Gaza.’
Zomlot said: ‘We are watching the global order being burned, burned. I think the global order is being collapsed. This is the president of the US who has now normalised the conversation, normalised the idea of eviction, normalised the idea of mass expulsion of people from their homes, normalised the idea that you can literally erase entire nations.
‘This is very dangerous and it will go far beyond Palestine. The international community, including the UK, has a lot to think about because the world has allowed this to fester, has allowed Israel, the Netanyahus, the Smotriches and the Ben Gvirs, who are dreaming of literally replacing an entire nation to fester to the extent they have factions now in the White House.
‘Because of the history of the UK, because the whole thing started here with the Balfour Declaration, promising our land without consulting us and turning us into minorities.
‘The erasure of the Palestinian people began in 1917. I believe the UK has a historic role to play.’
Zomlot was asked: ‘Are you reassured by the comments by the Prime Minister in Prime Minister’s Questions and also from the Foreign Minister David Lammy today, standing up for the Palestinians and the right of the Palestinians to live in a two state solution?’
He replied: ‘Yes I do. It was firm, it was clear, it was blunt, but statements are not enough. We need action, and the UK has a lot up its sleeves in terms of action to correct that gravest injustice it has inflicted on us and has led to 100 years of wars.
‘We need the recognition of the State of Palestine immediately. Mr Starmer, don’t wait one more day, otherwise we’ve seen what Donald Trump proposes as an alternative is global wars that will emanate from Palestine.
‘We need sanctions on all those these who provide disincentives because Netanyahu’s real aim is the West Bank.
‘You heard President Trump saying yesterday that in four weeks he will issue a new definition of the West Bank. They are pushing for an acceptance of the annexation of the West Bank.
‘There is the issue of the ICC (International Criminal Court) and the accountability and the upholding of the arrest warrant. There is the issue of the arms embargo. We need action now and we need the UK to lead international efforts.’
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