(Telegraph-UK) Con Coughlin - This week, Foreign Secretary David Cameron made the stunning suggestion that the British government is giving consideration to formally recognizing the creation of an independent Palestinian state. British support for a two-state solution has been official British policy since the pre-war mandate era. Cameron's remarks, though, where he intimated that Britain might preempt the outcome of any future peace negotiations by granting official recognition to a Palestinian state, indicated a dramatic shift in official British policy. They also demonstrated a disturbing lack of diplomatic tact at a time when Israel, a country that is supposed to be one of the UK's closest allies, is engaged in an existential struggle against the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists responsible for committing the worst atrocity in the Jewish state's history. Raising the prospect of recognizing a Palestinian state when the Israeli people remain traumatized by the events of Oct. 7, and when the fate of the 100 or so Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas hangs in the balance, is not the unequivocal demonstration of support Israel deserves to receive from a key ally in its hour of need. There may well be, once the Gaza conflict has finally ended, a moment when peace talks on resolving the Israel-Palestinian issue can resume. Such an outcome, though, is light years away from the reality on the ground, where the priority for Israelis of all political persuasions is to ensure that they never again suffer the horrors of a large-scale terrorist attack.
2024-02-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive