So the ayes have it. British MPs have ignored the wishes of the Anglo-Jewish population and voted in favour of recognizing Palestine as a state alongside Israel by 274 votes to 12.
The result is symbolic and is not binding on the current or future administrations, but it is a blow to the many British Jews who have lobbied MPs to reject the motion.
The full motion stated: “That this House believes that the Government should recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two state solution."
The vote is a major blow to Britain’s standing in the Middle East.
The motion was sponsored by a Palestinian lobby group called the Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, co-chaired by the Conservative Arabist Crispin Blunt, a former chairman of the council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding.
Other sponsors of the motion included Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather, a supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and an advocate of a European trade embargo against Israel. Graham Morris, Labour MP for Easington and chairman of the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, also sponsored the bill. (This is a man who compares Zionism to Nazism.)
The Hamas-supporting thugs in Britain who boycott Jewish businesses and shout “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea” now have the tacit backing of the UK parliament.
If British Jews are furious at the actions of MPs, they have every right to feel that way.
Raphi Bloom, co-chair of Northwest Friends of Israel, recently stated that “a just settlement which results in a secure Israel recognised by all countries in the Middle East living in peace alongside a viable, Palestinian state should be the aim of the British Parliament, not supporting a unilateral declaration of statehood.”
The vote is a major blow to Britain’s standing in the Middle East. It cannot any longer be a neutral party in Middle East peace talks. Why? Because the British parliament’s recognition of Palestine, with no binding agreements with Israel and no international functions, is effectively recognising the legitimacy of Hamas to speak for the Palestinian Arabs in Gaza.
Meanwhile, it is no secret that the Palestinian Authority has repeatedly refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and neighbouring Arab countries have failed to fulfil UN resolution 242, which calls for the exchange of land in return for peace and security.”
As things stand, the House of Common vote on Palestine represents a nadir in Anglo-Israeli relations and is perhaps the most dramatic British betrayal since 1948.
