UK's Lammy says recognizing Palestine will not end struggle in region
3 Min Read
Lammy says that a "political solution" not a military one would bring about peace, citing that "it is the Biden plan" that may do so.
-
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrives at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Recognizing a Palestinian state would not end the struggle in the Middle East; instead, it is vital to implement the plan provided by US President Joe Biden, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Tuesday.
In late May, Biden unveiled a fresh proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. The first phase of the agreement must entail a six-week truce in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a number of captives.
Lammy expressed that a "political solution" not a military one would bring about peace, citing that "it is the Biden plan that is on the table at the moment that we would like to see [Palestinian movement] Hamas accept and, of course, the leadership of Israel accept."
This, according to him, would bring forward a ceasefire and may bring about a "two-state" solution.
Ireland, Norway, and Spain recognized Palestine in May, followed by Slovenia in June. They joined nine other EU countries — Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia — that did the same in 1988 before entering the EU. Sweden followed suit in 2014.
The UK is expected to decide on the imposition of an arms embargo on "Israel" in the upcoming weeks following a probe reviewing the evidence of the occupation's war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, The Times reported on Monday.
Newly-appointment Foreign Minister David Lammy is under pressure from backbench Labour Party members to announce a complete ban on arms sale to "Israel," which was speculated to occur this week, according to The Times.
The contentious arms sales have strained the relationship between the UK and the occupation after the Labour government assumed power, countering the former Conservative government's lenient decisions and support of "Israel" and its ongoing genocide in Gaza.
British attornies in support of Palestine
Attorney-General Richard Hermer KC (King's Counsel) visited "Israel" last week to explain the Labour government's decision to withdraw the Conservative government's formal complaint to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) jurisdiction on Israeli settlers to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamini Netanyahu.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Hermer to his cabinet; a surprising decision due to Hermer's opposition to "Israel's" illegal occupation of the West Bank, as well as signing a letter from Jewish lawyers urging the occupation to comply with international law after its daily bombardment of Gaza since October 7.
Phillipe Sands KC was also a signatory to the letter and is currently representing Palestine at the ICJ. The attorney urged the UK to impose an arms embargo following a recent ruling from the court urging the end of the occupation of the West Bank by ordering member states not to "render aid or assistance" to the regime.
The United Kingdom has sold $19.7 million worth of arms to "Israel" in the past year. Ultimately, activists have claimed that the UK's production of F-35 has been used in "Israel's" ongoing war on the Strip.
