Martin Linton, head of the UK‘s Labor Friends of Palestine.

By Mohammad Najim

RAMALLAH, November 1, 2017 (WAFA) – The very first step the British government should do to rectify the injustice inflicted upon the Palestinian people by the Balfour declaration would be to recognize the State of Palestine and stop trading with illegal settlements, the head of the UK’s Labor Friends of Palestine, Martin Linton, said.

Speaking exclusively to WAFA, Linton said, “I think it is a great shame that the British government and the UK Foreign Secretary have not taken the opportunity of the Balfour centenary for at least recognizing Palestine and recognizing the enormous suffering that has come to the Palestinian people as an indirect result of the Balfour Declaration.”

Linton maintained that the British government should start putting pressure on the Israeli government over illegal settlements, “because that is one of the most pressing things that causes difficulty and suffering to the Palestinians in the West Bank.”

He added, “It is urgent that the government should not only say that it condemns them but also takes positive action. The first step might be to stop trading with illegal settlements.”

He said what holds the British government back from apologizing for the declaration is “pride” in the first place, in addition to “the feel that if it apologizes it will be interpreted by many people as saying that the Israeli state should not exist and the Israelis should be expelled from their country.”

Linton stressed that the Labor Party is fully committed to recognition and beyond that to justice for the Palestinians. “How likely [the Labor Party] is going to achieve this depends entirely on the results of the next elections… If there were election in the immediate future there is a good chance that the Labor Party would win, and (Labor Party leader) Jeremy Corbin would fulfill his promise not only to recognize Palestine but to start the process of persuading the Israeli government that it must end settlement building, the blockade of Gaza and occupation of the West Bank.”

Commenting on whether the Labor Party can do anything to enhance the Palestinian position in any future negotiations with the Israeli government, he said the European Union is the only group of countries that can do something fruitful in this regard. “They are the major trading partner with Israel. They can put enormous pressure on the Israelis, but in order to take any important decisions all the 28 countries of the EU have to agree and that rarely happens.”

He said therefore, “it is up to the major countries in the EU - France, Germany and Britain – to take the lead on this. Germany, for reasons that we understand, remains hesitant to be the main mover. France has tried but Britain refused to offer them any support.”

Linton expressed belief that the most effective step that can be taken to push the peace process forward lies in a “British decision to support the French initiative in the Middle East… The UK is almost the only country that can do something.”

He pointed out that support for the Labor Friends of Palestine has increased very rapidly among the Members of Parliament (MPs), adding that 80% of Labor MPs have voted to recognize the State of Palestine, and many of them would vote for measures to restrict trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

He said he spends a lot of his time trying to persuade British politicians of the importance of doing something to help the Palestinian people, “first of all to stop the building of illegal settlements, stop the theft of land in the West Bank and to stop the siege of Gaza. That includes the right of return of Palestinians in the Diaspora to their homes. Many people regard this as impractical but probably recognize that it could be achieved.”

“I think we need to persuade the British government that the return of the refugees is an achievable objective. It is probably true to say that the most pressing issue is the treatment of Palestinians here in the West Bank and Gaza through occupation and blockade,” he said.

Linton praised the “courage” of Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbin who refused to attend a London dinner celebrating the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. He said many people were shocked that Prime Minister Theresa May invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to Britain to mark the occasion.

“Though it is not official, the dinner is clearly very offensive and a great provocation to the Palestinian people. I think any British politician with principle should have boycotted this dinner because it is glorifying the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

“I think in a perfect world the British government would apologize and I don’t think they are going to do that, but it is important to understand that the promise, whatever it said, was wrong because as the famous author Arthur Koestler said, it was one nation solemnly promising another nation the country of a third,” the head of the Labor Friends of Palestine said.

M.N./M.K.