Head of the Palestine Mission to the UK, Husam Zomlot reacts as he holds a plaque with the words 'Embassy of the State of Palestine', during a flag-raising ceremony outside their Mission in west London. AFP
The UK decision came on the same day Australia, Canada, and Portugal recognized Palestinian statehood ahead of the UNGA in New York on Tuesday.
The decision carries historic weight as Britain was the first Western nation to promise in the infamous 1917 Balfour Declaration to support to the establishment of a Jewish state in Historic Palestine in a country where Arab Palestinians represented 96 percent of the population.
Head of Mission Husam Zomlot hailed the “long overdue” recognition as the Palestinian flag was raised before a crowd outside the building in Hammersmith, west London.
“The UK government has finally taken the long overdue step of recognising this state of Palestine. As soon, as very soon pending some legal work, some bureaucratic work with the Minister and the government, this plaque which reads ‘The Embassy of the State of Palestine’ will be placed right behind me in this building,” he said, holding up the plaque to the gathered crowd.
Zomlot stressed that Britain’s recognition is about more than just Palestine.
“It is also about Britain and the British government’s solemn responsibility. It is about ending the denial of the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to freedom and self-determination, and it is an acknowledgement of a historic injustice."
“Ladies and gentlemen, Palestine exists, it has always existed, and it always will. Palestine will always exist in the hearts of our people and millions of loving people in this world.
"This recognition is not about affirming what we already know; it’s about righting historic wrongs and committing together to a future based on freedom, dignity, and justice," he added.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that the Palestinian Authority could now “set up an embassy and an ambassador in the UK”.
“We will set out the diplomatic steps with the Palestinian Authority, there will be a series of different stages and processes to go through,” Cooper told the BBC.
“On that practical side the most important thing is that it’s part of that process to keep everyone working towards a two-state solution,” she added.
She continued: “Just as we recognise Israel, we must also recognise the right of the Palestinians to establish their own state.”
When asked about the British consulate in East Jerusalem becoming an embassy, Cooper said it had been there “for longer than the Israeli state, so it will continue for now, and we will set out the diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority”.
She also warned Israel against annexing parts of the West Bank in response to the UK’s recognition, a move Israeli officials have threatened as retaliation.
Following Sunday’s announcement, Britain’s foreign ministry updated its travel advice page, removing the reference to “Occupied Palestinian territories” and replacing it with “Palestine”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the push for recognition as “absurd,” warning it would “endanger” Israel’s existence. He also vowed to accelerate the expansion of settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
On Gaza, the Palestinian ambassador stressed, “Now, while we welcome this decision and acknowledge the gravity of this moment, we must remember that this recognition comes at a time of unimaginable pain and suffering as a genocide is being waged against us.”
The flag-raising in London comes as several world leaders are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state on Monday at a summit convened by France and Saudi Arabia ahead of the opening of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
The historic event, The High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, comes amid growing regional and international recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the June 1967 borders.
The conference, which will be attended by dozens of world leaders, comes amid growing global outrage and condemnation of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and Tel Aviv’s increasing steps to annex the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The French decision to recognize Palestinian statehood in July prompted more Western countries to follow suit in the weeks since, including Luxembourg, Malta, Canada, Australia, and Portugal. Belgium announced its intention to recognize Palestinian statehood, but with conditions. New Zealand and Liechtenstein are expected to also formally recognize a Palestinian state on Monday.
To date, 151 UN member-states have recognized the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state.
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