Palestinian physician, Haidar Abdel-Shafi, once said that “we cannot take care of health and education as long as we live under occupation”. Today following years of failed negotiations and repeated outbreaks of bloody conflict we appear no closer to a sustainable solution.
Evidence of this can be found in the multiple obstacles to accessing health care that Palestinians face living in the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian Authority bears the responsibility for health care in occupied Palestine. Yet, without control of borders, movement, access to water or the import and export of goods, they are unable to run a fully functioning health system. Palestinians in the West Bank are not guaranteed access to clinics and hospitals, even for urgent care, due to movement restrictions, while in Gaza, the blockade means that basic, essential medicines remain at zero stock.
On Monday 13th October, MPs will have the chance to debate and vote on whether the UK should recognise Palestine. Join the campaign asking them to vote yes.
This vote couldn’t come at a more important time. The recent war on Gaza has exposed the damage that not just thousands of bombs, but years of blockade have done to the tiny enclave. The sudden increase in media attention exposed a health system at breaking point and the dire need for real change now.
Sir Vincent Fean, the British Consul-General in Jerusalem from 2010 to 2014, recently wrote that it is exactly at such bleak times that our leaders need to find new ways to move forward; ‘that is why I believe the time is right for the United Kingdom to recognise the state of Palestine’.
He continued:‘Britain is uniquely placed to give a lead by recognising Palestine now, just as we recognised Israel in 1950. Where we lead, Europe will follow.
‘In 2011, Britain noted at the UN that “the Palestinian Authority has developed successfully the capacity to run a democratic and peaceful state, founded on the rule of law and living in peace and security with Israel… Palestine largely fulfils the legal and technical criteria for UN membership, including statehood, in as far as the Occupation allows.”
‘Recognition will renew Palestinian belief that the path of non-violence, not the Hamas path, leads somewhere: to a state coming into being through diplomacy and democratic expression, not destruction. Israelis will see that we regard both peoples as equal in dignity and in rights.’
The Israeli government argues that change can only come through negotiations. But, with yet another round of the peace process having ended in April with no agreement, Palestinians have no real opportunity to demand the change they need. In Sir Vincent’s words; ‘Britain has stated that it is waiting for “a moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace”. That moment is now.’
Our President, Baroness Morris, wrote in response to Sir Vincent’s article that; “Britain, more than any country, has an obligation to the Palestinians and we should fulfil that obligation by recognising Palestine at the United Nations. As a good friend of Israel and Palestine, the UK has always supported a viable Palestine alongside a secure Israel, and we believe this vote will help to move us closer to that goal; at the very least it will mean that the Palestinians can sit a little taller at the negotiating table.
Act now: Join the campaign for MPs to vote ‘Yes’ on October 13th
#RecognisePalestine
