Leader of the UK’s official opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, said yesterday that the Labour Party is committed to “complete recognition” of a Palestinian state and to calling for the end of the Israel’s policy of occupation and settlement. He also stressed the need to end the war in Syria.
Corbyn also criticised the Trump administration’s negation efforts, known as the “deal of the century”. Corbyn said, “I don’t know what his “deal of the century” involves, but what I do know is the Palestinian people’s rights must be met. That means an end to the occupation, the settlement policy and the siege of Gaza, as well as recognising the right to return.”
Today I met children living in one of the largest Palestinian refugee camps.
But the UN body that supports refugees is in crisis after Donald Trump’s decision to withhold funding.
We must lead in ensuring these children have hope, and work to end the refugee crisis. pic.twitter.com/Eo8tEniUZa
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 23, 2018
This statement was made by Corbyn to a number of media outlets, including Arabi21 during his visit to the Baqa’a refugee camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. He visited the camp to learn about the services provided by the UNRWA in Jordan.
In an exclusive statement to Arabi21 Corbyn said, “America’s reduction of its UNRWA funding left a gap in its budget. I hope the US changes its mind, as well as the rest of the world, especially Europe and Britain, and that they ensure the agency continues its good work.”
Read: Support for the Palestinians gathers pace in Trump’s America
“I call on the British government to give more to the UNRWA … Jordan has the largest number of refugees and contributed greatly to the support of refugees.”
During his visit to the Baqa’a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, Corbyn met with UNRWA employees in the camp’s health centre, schools, and students at the girls’ secondary school.
Corbyn praised the Jordanian positions and services provided to Palestinian and Syrian refugees. He pointed out that Jordan is ranked number one in the world in terms of the number of refugees residing in the country compared to the popular.
According to the UNRWA statistics, about 130,00 to 150,000 Palestinian and Syrian refugees live in the Baqa’a camp. It is one of the six “emergency” camps set up in 1968 in order to accommodate the Palestinian refugees and those displaced from the West Bank and Gaza after the Israeli 1967 war.