Labour will recognise a Palestinian state, pledges Thornberry

“Do we want generations of Israelis growing up with car-rammings, knife attacks, or Palestinian youth facing 58 per cent unemployment?”

Layla Moran, the first MP of Palestinian heritage, said: “There is strong cross-party consensus on that now and we have to do it without preconditions.” 

The Liberal Democrat MP said she was hopeful about peace in the region and believed recognising Palestine was the start. “Britain has a significant role to play and we cannot delegate to the Americans on this,” she said. “I believe in Israel’s right to exist and we need to encourage people to get around the negotiating table. You can’t do that if you refuse to recognise one side.”

The MPs were speaking at an event entitled “Britain’s Broken Promise: Time for a New Approach”, which according to its organisers, the Balfour Project, was not intended as a celebration of the centenary.

Reverend Christopher Chessun, the Anglican Bishop of Southwark, said a workable solution for the Israelis and the Palestinians was not possible without “recognition of two states.

“The Balfour Declaration envisaged two communities living and co-existing peacefully.” He said the centenary should be marked by Britain “by recognising a Palestinian state”. Both Israelis and Palestinians deserved security, he said. “The Hamas path of violence and aggression is not the answer.”

Danny Rich, Senior Rabbi of Liberal Judaism, said he would mark the centenary with “some thanks, some pride and some hope.

“I cherish with pride the modern Israel, yet at the same time I’m conscious this is not paralleled in the realities of all peoples in the region, who still don’t have equal rights.” 

Around 1200 people attended the event at the Methodist Central Hall, in Westminster on Tuesday. 

The Balfour Project is a charity set up “to promote justice, security and peace for Israelis and Palestinians”.