Rishi Sunak faces calls for UK to follow Spain, Norway and Ireland in recognising Palestinian state
Rishi Sunak is facing calls for the UK to recognise the state of Palestine, on the day that Ireland, Spain and Norway officially do so.
The Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney has written to both the prime minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urging them to “do the right thing” and “immediately” recognise a Palestinian state.
He said the SNP would force a binding vote at Westminster after the general election if they failed to do so.
Mr Swinney said recognition would offer “hope” that a “durable political solution” was possible between Israel and Palestine.
“I am calling on the UK to follow the lead of Ireland, Norway and Spain by immediately recognising Palestine as a state – and if Rishi Sunak will not do it now, Keir Starmer must commit to doing so on his first day in Downing Street.”
The Palestinian ambassador to Ireland has also urged the UK government to recognise Palestine.
An Israeli soldier sits in a tank near the Israel-Gaza border. Pic: Reuters
Speaking to Sky News, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said: “The British have a very strong hand in the injustice that happened to the Palestinians, so I think it’s important that one of those countries that should recognise the right of Palestinian self-determination is the British government.”
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Dr Abdalmajid referred to Britain’s involvement in the establishment of the state of Israel, including the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government of David Lloyd George announced its support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
“Justice must prevail,” said the ambassador. “I think it’s very important for the British government to see this and try to correct what happened in 1917, and during the Mandate when they encouraged colonisation in Palestine.”
The trio of countries which today will start recognising the Palestinian state have faced the diplomatic wrath of Israel since the move was announced last week.
Their ambassadors have been formally reprimanded by Tel Aviv, and were filmed by Israeli media as they were asked to watch video footage from the 7 October Hamas attack, something the Irish government deems “unacceptable”.
The Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, posted a video on X showing footage of Hamas militants interspersed with traditional Irish music, footage of Irish dancing and the slogan “Hamas: Thanks Ireland”.
Similar videos, tailored to Spain and Norway, were also posted.
A Palestinian boy sits on debris after an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah on 9 May. Pic: Reuters
Addressing the taoiseach, Mr Katz wrote: “Ireland, if your goal was to reward terrorism by declaring support for a Palestinian state, you’ve achieved it. [Irish Prime Minister] Simon Harris, Hamas thanks you for your service.”
It’s a point of view firmly rejected by the Irish. Speaking in Brussels with his counterparts from Spain and Norway, the Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin said: “Some have framed our decision to recognise the State of Palestine as a move to impose an outcome on the parties, or as somehow a reward for terror.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. We have recognised both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine precisely because we want to see a future of normalised relations between the two peoples.”
But members of Ireland’s small Jewish community are sceptical. Former justice minister Alan Shatter told Sky News the move was political theatre.
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“It’s about as relevant as New Zealand announcing that they now recognise that the government of the Republic of Ireland rules the entirety of the island of Ireland,” he said.
“Of course, that wouldn’t change the reality on the ground. And probably if that did happen, the Irish government would look askance and think everyone in New Zealand has gone mad.”
Others say they fear the move could fuel anti-semitism. Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, said that “latent anti-semitism is now becoming blatant anti-semitism”.
“The experience [for Jews in Ireland] has always been ‘cead mile failte’ [‘a hundred thousand welcomes’]. There was an outstretched hand for us and for other people.
“But now we find, very simply, that that hand is curling into a fist and we don’t know where that is going.”
Palestinians in Ireland are expected to gather outside Leinster House, the home of the Irish parliament, today as speeches are made.
“This gives them hope,” said Dr Abdaljamid. “This gives them some light after this dark tunnel.
“The Palestinian people see that we are seen, we are heard by Ireland, by Spain, by the whole world actually who protest since the 7th of October. We are not alone in this world. I mean it’s very important.”
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
World
Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people waiting for aid in Khan Younis, Hamas-run health ministry says
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of fatalities will rise.
Pic: Reuters
The strikes took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd.
“Emergency, intensive care, and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding,” a statement said.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Pic: Reuters
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on this incident.
On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.
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