Scottish Greens call for UK to recognise Palestine
The Scottish Greens have urged the UK government to join Ireland, Spain, Norway and countries around the world in recognising Palestine as a nation state.
The call comes on the morning that the Irish Taoiseach, Simon Harris, announced Ireland’s recognition of the state of Palestine and called on other leaders to do the same. At present, 146 of 193 member states of the United Nations recognise Palestine, but full recognition has been consistently blocked by a small number of nations led by the United States.
It comes within days of the International Criminal Court applying for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, its defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar and others for crimes against humanity.
Scottish Greens external affairs spokesperson Ross Greer said:
“This is an important move by Ireland, Norway and Spain and a basic statement of respect for a long oppressed nation. It sends an important message at a time when support and solidarity with Palestinians is more important than ever.
“Human rights and the collective right to self-determination are universal, which means they must extend to Palestine. I am glad that so many European countries are finally joining the vast majority of the world in recognising the state of Palestine. As one of the countries most responsible for the decades of injustice inflicted on Palestinians, I hope the UK will now join in that recognition and begin to undo the harm it has done.
“The refusal to recognise Palestine by a handful of powerful countries led by the US and UK has not only been shameful, it has made the situation worse. It has been used to undermine the Palestinian people and their efforts to achieve liberation and a lasting peace.
“The destruction and genocide inflicted by Israel over the last seven months would not have been possible without the support of complicit governments like the UK. Not only have successive British governments refused to recognise Palestine, they have continued to arm Israel despite the many grave crimes it has committed against the Palestinian people.
“I look forward to the day when an independent Scotland can not only recognise Palestine but finally move far beyond the aggressive, militaristic and destructive UK foreign policy that has helped to entrench injustice and done so much harm to the world.”