Recognising Palestine

The right-wing chorus is at it again – stamping their feet because they “weren’t consulted” over Britain recognising Palestine. Spare me the indignation. Nobody asked the people in 1950 whether Britain should recognise Israel, and that was just two years after Irgun and the Stern Gang had blown up the King David Hotel, murdered British policemen, and strung up two British sergeants like butchered meat. Those killings weren’t accidental – they were aimed directly at us.

And yet Britain recognised Israel, because we understood that denying a people their statehood only fuels more bloodshed. Hamas has killed British citizens, yes – but never as a matter of policy, never because they were British. The deaths of Britons in Hamas attacks have been incidental to their wider slaughter of civilians. With Irgun, killing Britons was the objective. We still recognised Israel, because the bigger principle was statehood and peace.

Fast forward to today and the same principle applies. Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged recognition of Palestine. Voters saw it, digested it, and still delivered Starmer a thumping majority. Recognition wasn’t a surprise wheeled out in the dead of night – it was there in black and white, and endorsed at the ballot box.

So let’s cut through the cant. If you supported Israel’s right to exist after its paramilitaries deliberately targeted British citizens, but now howl at Palestine’s recognition because Hamas exists, you’re not upholding any noble principle. You’re wallowing in hypocrisy, cherry-picking history, and pretending that democracy requires your personal permission slip.

The people were asked – at the ballot box in 2024. You just don’t like the answer.