Palestine PM: UK bears a moral, historical responsibility towards the Palestinian people

Palestinian Prime Minister, Muhammad Shtayyeh, called on the UK to recognise the State of Palestine, support its full membership to the UN, and provide aid to Palestinian institutions.

During his meeting with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly yesterday in Ramallah, Shtayyeh stressed that “tomorrow will be too late if action is not taken today.”

He said, “The United Kingdom bears a moral and historical responsibility towards the Palestinian people,” adding, “It must be a positive player in realising the rights of the Palestinian people and finding a political solution that meets their aspirations.”

“In light of the deteriorating situation on the ground, the two-state solution is fading and being violated on a daily and systematic basis, and it will become difficult to implement it.”

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He called on the UK to protect the two-state solution by engaging seriously and at the highest levels in the political process along with the US and the international community to create a political horizon with the aim of ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state.

Shtayyeh added that Israel and Palestine should not be dealt with on an equal footing, adding that there is an occupying state, and a state and a people under occupation. “We call for a reconsideration of British policies and for its discourse to be consistent with its belief in the two-state solution and international law.”

The UK, he added, must also call on Israel to abide by agreements it has signed, allow elections to be held in all Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, and to put pressure on Israel to release the martyrs whose bodies are being held.