'Thank you, but it's too late': Why some Palestinians aren't convinced by Starmer's promise
Following France and then, followed by Canada, one of the reasons why Britain Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - following France and eventually followed by the UNited Kingdom - has a proposal to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September - rather than the empty slogan it has adopted since the Oslo peace process devolving into bloodshed 25 years ago. A day riding the West Bank is a welcome reminder of how facts conceived by Israel to prevent this happening have been poured into the Palestinians' rocky hills and valleys. In Jewish settlements that now host more than 700,000 Israelis, the success of Israel's massive national project began only days after it took the territory in the 1967 Middle East war can be seen. Getting them there has been a lengthy process, billions of dollars, and has sparked retaliation from both friends and opponents alike. It is a breach of international law for an occupier to notify its citizens on the property it has taken. Last year, the International Court of Justice issued an alert stating that the entire occupation was unlawful. However, Benjamin Netanyahu's government is starving for more agreements.
Israel Katz, the defence minister, and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced in May that 22 new settlements would be built in the West Bank. Katz said the massive expansion, the biggest in decades, was made as a result of a strategic move
that would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel and acts as empiring our enemies.
he said. Bezalel Smotrich, the ultra-nationalist king, lives in a West Bank settlement and believes the land was given to the Jews by God. He is the finance minister, but the West Bank's governor also has broad authority over planning.This is a Zionist, defense, and national reaction, as well as a definite decision on the country's future,
The settlement extension was aonce-in-a-generation decision,
Smotrich said,Next step sovereignty!
sovereignty" they refer to annexation, they mean annec Smotrich intends to remove Palestinians from the land for Jews, and has openly discussed how to depose Palestinians.All in Israel and the Palestinians in the territories know that when Smotrich and his allies say
'We were very, very scared'
Settlements in various stages of their growth, from well-established small towns with mature gardens and schools, to outposts with fewer than 100 caravans and a militant group of young settlers who often mix faith with extreme Jewish nationalism, firearms, and sometimes deadly violence against their Palestinian neighbors are on the hilltop. According to UN and peace campaigners' results, violent settlers have increased attacks on their Palestinian neighbors since the 7 October attacks. I went to see how it has affected Taybeh, a predominantly Christian village of about 1,500 residents. It is a quiet place with more houses than people. Following almost six decades of Israeli occupation, more Taybeh people have been forced to emigrate than those who now live in the village. Settlers arrived in the village two nights before the tour when most people were in bed. They sacked Kamal Tayea's car and tried unsuccessfully to enter his new home, part of a pleasant neighborhood overlooking acres of olive groves. They daubed the walls with graffiti in Hebrew sprayed with red paint. Kamal, a middle-aged man who was reassessing whether his decision to relocate his family to the village's edge, is correct, is installing a network of security cameras. We were very, very scared,
Kamal said.
I asked him if Britain's decision to recognize Palestine would make his life any simpler.I have children and an old mum. Our lives were in jeopardy, and it was scary.
It does not pay attention to no other country in the world.I don't think so. It's a big leap to have a superpower like Britain help us, but on the ground, it doesn't change much. Israel is not compliant with any international resolutions or laws.
'Our roots are here. We can't move'
During the next night, Jewish settlers raided neighboring Palestinian communities, torching cars, and spraying graffiti. It is more than just vandalism. The settlers want the Palestinians out of their territories, and they have succeeded in some areas in the occupied territories, evicting Palestinians in rural villages and stealing their livestock. David Khoury, a 74-year-old Greek Orthodox priest, was born in Taybeh. I told him in his church that settlers who have assaulted him and other residents are often armed.
The old priest was defiant. "We are here, since Jesus Christ, 2,000 years ago. Our roots are here. We can't move. We will not move if we die here, but we will not leave here. Palestine is within our blood, how can we survive without our blood?Yes, they have guns; they'll use them if we disagree with them. They want us to leave, and they want us out.
'If you really seek two states, recognise [both]'
I was not many miles to Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital of the West Bank, but I wasn't able to get there in person. Since driving back to Jerusalem can be slow and difficult, Israel's checkpoints can make getting back to the city slowed and uncomfortable, so I found Husam Zomlot He is the head of the Palestinian delegation to the United Kingdom, serving as their ambassador in London. He is back home for the summer and was delighted by Britain's decision to recognise Palestine.
We see the progress as the starting gun on a brisk march toward implementing and establishing Palestine and upholding the Palestinian people's legitimate rights.It is a sign that the United Kingdom and the rest of the international community are really serious about the two-state solution. We are no longer in the business of lip services, which has sadly taken us three decades. In fact, if you really want two states, you should definitely visit the two states.
A pledge of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations,Zomlot was jubilant. It was, he said, a first step, and Britain's decision would make a real difference. History is one of the conflict's key factors. The United Kingdom, he said, was atoning at last for the wrongs it had done to Palestinians when it was the imperial power here between 1917 and 1948. He was referring to the promises made in a short, typewritten letter dated 2 November 1917, signed by foreign secretary Arthur Balfour and sent to Lord Rothschild, a representative of Britain's Jewish community.
be seen with favorthe letter said. The establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine would
by Britain. It was followed by another pledge:Nothing will be done that will prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish groups in Palestine.
says Britain Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who attended the UN in New York this week,He meant the majority, Palestinian Arabs, though he didn't name them,
a historical injustice that continues to unfold,he said the UK should be proud to have laid Israel's foUNdations after 1917. However, breaking the Balfour Declaration's promise to Palestinians triggered
He is threatening Israel with retaliation, and he believes that this is the only way to bring peace to the Middle East. He is not in a position to punish us, and it will not bring us back to peace.he said. Simcha Rothman, an ultra-nationalist MP from Israel's National Religious Party, had a look at Britain's iMPerial history in the Middle East at the Knesset. He said that the British and French had attempted to fix boundaries before taking the Middle East from the dying Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Britain couldn't play the imperial power anymore. Rothman, his party's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich, said the initiative to honor Hamas rewarded Hamao terrorism. Starmer's offer to postpone recognition if Israel, among other conditions, agreed to a complete ceasefire in Gaza and a revival of the two-state solution.
Wherever he is in hell today, he sees what Keir Starmer says - and says, 'good partner.It's against justice, history, faith, and culture. Yahya Sinwar [the Hamas leader who commanded the 7 October attacks and was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year] is being given a huge reward.
Thank you Britain,I had asked a group of influential local people who were drinking coffee with the mayor in his office what they thought about the UK's recognition program back in Taybeh.
Top image: Getty Images For the best insight, BBC InDepthis is the home on the web and app for the most comprehensive review, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the day's most significant topics. We also featured thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer. By clicking on the button below, you can provide us your InDepth section feedback.one of them, a local businessman, said. But it's too late.
