Westminster 'recognises' Palestinian state

MPs have voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state alongside Israel, although the government is not bound to do anything as a result of the vote, which is widely held to be 'symbolic'.

The House of Commons backed the move "as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution" - although less than half of MPs took part in the vote.

The result, 274 to 12, may be symbolic but it could have international implications, as the UK played such a major role in the creation of Israel and the subsequent Nakba.

Government ministers abstained on the vote, on a motion put forward by Labour MP Grahame Morris and amended by former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who has a record of equivocation.

Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood said Britain reserved the right to recognise Palestine when it is ‘appropriate for the peace process’; but any delay in following this decision with any action, at least the ending of arms trade with the Israeli regime and a public declaration ofwillingness to open diplomatic relations with Palestine, might encourage a short-term increase in illegal Israeli colonisation and ‘settler’ aggression as a defence reaction.

In 2012 the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the Palestinians' status to that of "non-member observer state".

The assembly voted 138 to nine in favour, with 41 nations - including the UK - abstaining.

Mr Morris told MPs that recognising Palestine as a state would be a ‘symbolically important’ step towards peace, saying relations between Israelis and Palestinians were "stuck at an impasse’.

Current UK government policy, as set out by former Foreign Secretary William Hague, is that it ‘reserves the right to recognise a Palestinian state bilaterally at the moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace’.

The full motion stated: ‘That this House believes that the Government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two state solution.’

'Embassy' opens in Bristol, UK

In the centre of Bristol's old city,  A new Palestinian cultural exchange has opened its doors for the first time. I quote from the Release: Central-Bristol venue, the ARC on Broad Street, was transformed into a “Palestinian Embassy”. Spread across three floors it included a café serving Palestinian food, a cinema showing Palestinian films, and a gallery showing a major exhibition of Palestinian history, culture and solidarity, with West Bank paintings by Bristol artist Hanley. A day-long conference  included talks and workshops on Palestine provided by local and UK solidarity activists together with a live video link to Gaza & West Bank. Professor Manuel Hassassian, Palestine's

Prof. Hassassian greeted by the Lord Mayor of Bristol

Ambassador to the UK, was the welcome special guest.

National Geographic: Holidays in the sun

The same month as Chile publicly 'recognised' the Palestinian state, Jewish organisations have condemned as misleading an advert that appeared in National Geographic Traveler magazine for implying that Palestine extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.

The Zionist Federation, which has complained to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), said the advert also gave “false impressions” by describing Palestine as a country and suggesting that the city of Hebron / al-Khalil was under Palestinian control. (Of course, the city is under the control of the creeping colonialists and the army.)

The advert, which appeared in this month’s edition of the magazine, invited tourists to visit the famous city of Jerusalem, but makes no mention of Israel. In short, for better or for worse it employs unspeak from a Palestinian point-of-view.

It stated: “Palestine lies between the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan River, at the crossroads between Africa and the Middle East.”

More: http://www.thejc.com/node/43551

Argentina recognises Palestinian state

Argentina has become the second Latin American state after Brazil to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

AFP reports that in a letter to Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner (right) wrote that her country recognizes Palestine as a "free and independent state" as defined by the 1967 borders.

On Friday 3rd, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry announced that Brasilia recognizes the Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

The Brazilian announcement came in a public letter in response to a personal request by Abbas on November 24.

The Brazilian letter expressed support for the Palestinians' quest for a homeland as a "legitimate aspiration of the Palestinian people for a secure, united, democratic and economically viable state."

The authorities in Tel Aviv are reportedly infuriated.

True to form, US Congressman Eliot Engel criticized the Brazilian move and said, "Brazil's decision to recognize Palestine is severely misguided and represents a last gasp by a Lula-led foreign policy which was already substantially off track."

There is no legitimate reason why the international community should not back Palestinian demands for a state in most of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem), all territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Late news: Uruguay has joined these countries in 'recognising' Palestine, announcing it will recognize a Palestinian state next year.

"Uruguay will surely follow the same path as Argentina in 2011," deputy foreign minister Roberto Conde told AFP. "We are working toward opening a diplomatic representation in Palestine, most likely in Ramallah."

More than 100 states, mostly from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, have recognised Palestinian statehood, and Brazil becomes the last of the BRIC group of emerging powers – Brazil, Russia, India and China – to do so.

Other South American countries could now follow suit, and there has been speculation that Peru could be next.