london: Israel has condemned a vote by British MPs in favour of recognising a Palestinian state as “undermining chances for peace” as Britain’s ambassador to Israel warned that the move reflected changing British public opinion.
The non-binding vote, supported by 274 MPs with 12 voting against, follows a recent announcement by Sweden’s new government that it will recognise a Palestinian state in the future.
The Swedish announcement and the British House of Commons vote came against the background of unilateral moves by Palestinians at the UN security council to secure a resolution that would call for the end of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories by November 2016.
Although the vote in the Commons is only symbolic, it has attracted wide comment in Israel, despite attempts by Israeli government officials to largely ignore it. Israel’s foreign ministry, however, was quick to issue a statement criticising the vote, insisting that Palestinian statehood should come about only as a result of negotiations with Israel.
“Premature international recognition sends a troubling message to the Palestinian leadership that they can evade the tough choices that both sides have to make,” the ministry said in a statement.
Speaking on Israeli radio after the vote, the UK ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, insisted that Israeli officials should not dismiss the vote. Although Gould reiterated that the vote would not mark a change in government policy, he said: “I think it is right to be concerned about what it signifies in terms of the direction of public opinion.”
He added: “Separate from the narrow question of recognition, I am concerned in the long run about the shift in public opinion in the UK and beyond towards Israel. Israel lost support after this summer’s conflict, and after the series of announcements on settlements. This parliamentary vote is a sign of the way the wind is blowing, and will continue to blow without any progress towards peace.”
Other UK officials have also suggested that frustration with Israel and the government of Binyamin Netanyahu is echoed at the top of the British government where David Cameron’s support for Israel’s “right to self defence” during the recent Gaza war was answered after the ceasefire by Israeli settlement announcements - characterised as “galling” for No 10.
For his part, the leader of Israel’s opposition, Isaac Herzog, described the British vote as a defeat for Netanyahu’s increasingly troubled foreign policy that in recent weeks’ has seen the Israeli prime minister engaged in diplomatic disputes with the US, the UN and Sweden.
“This is another echoing failure from Netanyahu and foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman,” said Herzog.
“A cold wind is blowing towards Israel from every corner in the world, but they refuse to deal with the hard facts and are bringing a diplomatic storm,” he said “Netanyahu prefers to confront the whole world, from President Obama to other friends.”
Efraim Halevy, a former Mossad director and former Israeli ambassador to the EU, blamed the recent war in Gaza, which claimed 2,100 Palestinian lives and that of 73 Israelis. He said: “We should view this wave of decisions and announcements as reflecting public opinion. Public opinion is more against Israel after Operation Protective Edge.
“This public opinion was affected by the media, which was very effective in the service of Hamas and its supporters. Public opinion has certain weight in deciding governments’ positions, particularly governments in whose countries there are ever growing numbers of Muslims, from various countries, not just the Middle East, but also Pakistan and India. That’s how we should see this.”Guardian News
