Occupied Jerusalem: The British parliament’s vote to recognise a Palestinian state reflects shifting public sentiment against Israel in Britain and around the world, Britain’s ambassador to Israel said on Tuesday.
British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of recognising Palestine as a state on Monday, in a non-binding motion heavy with symbolism but unlikely to change government policy.
The motion was passed by 274 in favour to 12 votes against, to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.
The heated debate in the House of Commons was watched around the world, and could have diplomatic implications, bolstering a campaign by Palestinian authorities for recognition.
The British government is not bound to act on the motion, as it was initiated by a backbencher from the opposition Labour Party, and said it would only recognise a Palestinian state at the appropriate moment.
Labour lawmaker Jack Straw, who was foreign secretary in the government of Tony Blair, denied suggestions that the motion would have little effect.
“I believe the fact of the Israelis’ very intemperate reaction to the prospect of this House passing this resolution is proof that this resolution will make a difference,” Straw said.
According to Ambassador Matthew Gould, the House of Commons’ vote on Monday will not change British government policy but is “significant” because it reveals attitudes toward Israel after the summer war in Gaza.
The 50-day round of violence ended with a truce but left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations. On the Israeli side, 72 people died, most of them soldiers.
Gould told Israel Radio that although it was symbolic, Israel should take note of the vote.
“I think it is right to be concerned about what it signifies in terms of the direction of public opinion,” Gould said.
Israel’s recent colony activity such as the recent move to approve more Jewish housing in occupied east Jerusalem has “a very corrosive effect on international opinion,” the British envoy added.
The Israeli regime’s foreign ministry said the vote in Britain undermines chances for peace because 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.
Prime Minister David Cameron and other government leaders abstained, and more than half of the 650 Commons members did not participate in the vote. But the motion had support from both government and opposition lawmakers, who said it could help jump-start the peace process.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to recognise a state of Palestine on territories occupied by the Israelis in 1967. The United States and many European countries have not followed suit.
But earlier this month, Sweden’s new Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said his government would recognise the state of Palestine, an announcement that drew praise from Palestinian officials and criticism from the Israelis.
