RECOGNISING the Palestinian state is the prerequisite for peace, not a by-product of peace,’ Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday evening.
Zomlot said: ‘The main thing is the establishment of a Palestinian State. The Palestinian people are a people, they are ancient, they have their birthright, the inalienable right of self-determination on their land, having their own government, having their own state. That’s our endgame.
‘But the question is, what is Israel’s endgame? And it’s obvious, if the endgame is security, many security experts will tell you he (Netanyahu) has created humongous security issues for Israel. He has created so many enemies for Israel by the shear use of brutal force.’
Zomlot was asked: ‘Do you think he’s radicalised another generation of the Palestinian youth?’
He replied: ‘He has radicalised another generation of Palestinian, of Arab, of international.’
He was asked: ‘So as a representative of the Palestinian Authority, you have to get hold of this, so how does the Palestinian Authority seize the initiative?’
Zomlot replied: ‘The Palestinian national institutions see this as an opportunity not just to look backwards. This is not just about one day, as the Israelis try to make it. This is not even about the last 365 days.
‘It’s about 28,000 days, 76 years of same, same oppression. An Israeli mentality that you can simply by-pass the Palestinian issue, deny Palestinian rights, and then en- masse, engage in a collective act of suppression. This has got to end. And how do we see this? By moving forward.
‘And how do we move forward? It’s very clear. Number one, we do need a ceasefire. The international will has got to be enforced and then you ask me how are we going to enforce international will?
‘Because I assure you, Israel is not going to be listening to the asking. It’s clear, the US asks, the rest of the world asks, we have to enforce. How do we enforce? Number one, arms embargo.
‘You heard the French President only a couple of days ago saying that there has to be a full arms embargo and he has adopted that policy. The UK has adopted a partial arms embargo, we want it to be full, because it is the very tool that is allowing Israel to destroy itself.
‘You know sometimes if the West claims Israel to be their friend and ally, and really we don’t understand that statement, the shared values given what the Israeli army has been doing and the Netanyahu government is saying.
‘Yet the West continues to say that. The West is enabling Israel, by giving them all these tools, the tools here are the weapons, to drive themselves off a cliff.
‘How can Israel relate to the region any more? Only by bombing regional cities – Beirut, Syria, Lebanon, here and there, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen. Do you think you can bomb your existence into the region, and for all these decades?’
He was asked: ‘You are saying statehood can only begin when it is recognised, before the peace process. You are saying statehood before the peace process. But how many countries are moving to that position?’
Zomlot replied: ‘The majority of the world. Now we are recognised by 150 countries, that’s more than 70% of the world.
‘So why not the UK? That’s exactly the conversation we are having. The UK is saying “it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when”. They say “it’s a right for the Palestinian people. We will do it”.’
‘Are they saying there has got to be a peace process first or do they come together?’ he was asked.
Zomlot replied: ‘What we are telling them is that recognising the Palestinian state is the prerequisite for peace, not a by-product of peace. ‘And this is the moment when you come to and you deliver for the cause of peace. You spend political capital and you say okay, here is the path forward.
‘Two states, if you believe in two states, confirm it by your actions, not just lip service. Admit Palestine as a full member in the UN and then the whole thing will flip upside-down in the right direction. It’s now about Israel and Palestine.
‘We don’t discuss the fundamentals, we discuss minor details. We need clarity, it is a right and we believe the British government should do this in weeks, not months.’
However the British government has no intention of recognising the State of Palestine – it is currently busy arming Israel and is backing the Netanyahu regime to the hilt, as Netanyahu lashes out at the masses of the Lebanon and Gaza, seeking to bomb them into submission.
There is not the slightest doubt that the major UK ally of the Palestinian masses is the British working class, which has an enormous economic and political power.
The TUC is calling its ‘Day of Action’ in support of Palestine today. It is more like a day of ‘inaction’ and is certainly not enough. The UK workers and their trade unions must force the TUC to call a general strike to bring down the Starmer regime and bring in a workers government. Its first action will be to recognise the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital! RECOGNISING the Palestinian state is the prerequisite for peace, not a by-product of peace,’ Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday evening.
Zomlot said: ‘The main thing is the establishment of a Palestinian State. The Palestinian people are a people, they are ancient, they have their birthright, the inalienable right of self-determination on their land, having their own government, having their own state. That’s our endgame.
‘But the question is, what is Israel’s endgame? And it’s obvious, if the endgame is security, many security experts will tell you he (Netanyahu) has created humongous security issues for Israel. He has created so many enemies for Israel by the shear use of brutal force.’
Zomlot was asked: ‘Do you think he’s radicalised another generation of the Palestinian youth?’
He replied: ‘He has radicalised another generation of Palestinian, of Arab, of international.’
He was asked: ‘So as a representative of the Palestinian Authority, you have to get hold of this, so how does the Palestinian Authority seize the initiative?’
Zomlot replied: ‘The Palestinian national institutions see this as an opportunity not just to look backwards. This is not just about one day, as the Israelis try to make it. This is not even about the last 365 days.
‘It’s about 28,000 days, 76 years of same, same oppression. An Israeli mentality that you can simply by-pass the Palestinian issue, deny Palestinian rights, and then en- masse, engage in a collective act of suppression. This has got to end. And how do we see this? By moving forward.
‘And how do we move forward? It’s very clear. Number one, we do need a ceasefire. The international will has got to be enforced and then you ask me how are we going to enforce international will?
‘Because I assure you, Israel is not going to be listening to the asking. It’s clear, the US asks, the rest of the world asks, we have to enforce. How do we enforce? Number one, arms embargo.
‘You heard the French President only a couple of days ago saying that there has to be a full arms embargo and he has adopted that policy. The UK has adopted a partial arms embargo, we want it to be full, because it is the very tool that is allowing Israel to destroy itself.
‘You know sometimes if the West claims Israel to be their friend and ally, and really we don’t understand that statement, the shared values given what the Israeli army has been doing and the Netanyahu government is saying.
‘Yet the West continues to say that. The West is enabling Israel, by giving them all these tools, the tools here are the weapons, to drive themselves off a cliff.
‘How can Israel relate to the region any more? Only by bombing regional cities – Beirut, Syria, Lebanon, here and there, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen. Do you think you can bomb your existence into the region, and for all these decades?’
He was asked: ‘You are saying statehood can only begin when it is recognised, before the peace process. You are saying statehood before the peace process. But how many countries are moving to that position?’
Zomlot replied: ‘The majority of the world. Now we are recognised by 150 countries, that’s more than 70% of the world.
‘So why not the UK? That’s exactly the conversation we are having. The UK is saying “it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when”. They say “it’s a right for the Palestinian people. We will do it”.’
‘Are they saying there has got to be a peace process first or do they come together?’ he was asked.
Zomlot replied: ‘What we are telling them is that recognising the Palestinian state is the prerequisite for peace, not a by-product of peace. ‘And this is the moment when you come to and you deliver for the cause of peace. You spend political capital and you say okay, here is the path forward.
‘Two states, if you believe in two states, confirm it by your actions, not just lip service. Admit Palestine as a full member in the UN and then the whole thing will flip upside-down in the right direction. It’s now about Israel and Palestine.
‘We don’t discuss the fundamentals, we discuss minor details. We need clarity, it is a right and we believe the British government should do this in weeks, not months.’
However the British government has no intention of recognising the State of Palestine – it is currently busy arming Israel and is backing the Netanyahu regime to the hilt, as Netanyahu lashes out at the masses of the Lebanon and Gaza, seeking to bomb them into submission.
There is not the slightest doubt that the major UK ally of the Palestinian masses is the British working class, which has an enormous economic and political power.
The TUC is calling its ‘Day of Action’ in support of Palestine today. It is more like a day of ‘inaction’ and is certainly not enough. The UK workers and their trade unions must force the TUC to call a general strike to bring down the Starmer regime and bring in a workers government. Its first action will be to recognise the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital!
