Canada, Australia and the UK announced formal recognition of the state of Palestine today in an attempt to pile pressure on Israel as it presses on with its campaign in Gaza despite international outrage.
The three – all strong allies of Israel for decades – also expressed deep frustration at the lack of progress towards a two-state solution.
The move puts them at odds with the US and deepens Israel’s international isolation.
We’re ending our live coverage for now, but you can scroll down to look back at developments as they happened, and see here for a full round-up of today’s events. However, Naim added that this recognition must be “accompanied by practical measures on the ground to affirm these rights and thwart the Zionist plans that explicitly reject any Palestinian political entity.”
“It must be emphasized that the highest priority now is to stop the genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip and to end the humanitarian blockade on the territory,” he said.
For context: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to today’s move by the UK, Canada and Australia to formally recognize Palestine by vowing “there will be no Palestinian state.” The Israeli leader said despite immense pressure, both domestically and internationally, he has prevented the establishment of what he called a “terror state” for years.
“We did so with determination, and with diplomatic wisdom. All the more so, we have doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria — and we will continue on this path,” he said, deploying the term usually used in Israel to refer to the occupied West Bank.
“The response to the latest attempt to force a terror state upon us in the heart of our land will be given after my return from the United States. Wait for it,” Netanyahu added.
Source: here
