“But equally historic was the announced new policy by the government to sanction the illegality [of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank], to actually walk the walk and implement the two-state solution”.
Zomlot then went on to laud Miliband’s praise of pro-Palestine protestors.
The foreign secretary had, earlier in the day, told Labour’s conference: “I want to say to the millions of people in this country and indeed elsewhere who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people: we hear you. You were right.”
The ambassador commented: “Politics is about people, and this government hears the people, the millions of the British people who have been in the streets week in and week out for three years now, relentlessly, with passion, with the British passion for fairness, for justice, for peace, for the equal application of international law, for our global system.
“And, today, I just want to stand before all of you, and on behalf of my colleagues, the Arab ambassadors, to say big thank you to the British people.
“And under Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government, we do see that the United Kingdom, the UK is leading, leading as it once did, and not just once, many times,” he went on, before drawing parallels with pro-Palestine protests and those against apartheid South Africa.
“We remember the anti-apartheid movement,” he said.
“We remember it very clearly, where it started by the British people. It took some time for the government to ally itself with the British people. But when it did, when the government did, the days of apartheid were numbered, and we saw the freedom of South Africa.
“We saw the end of apartheid, and we saw the freedom of Nelson Mandela.
“I stand before you today, especially after this morning's speech, to tell you, with full conviction, that I believe this is Palestine's South Africa moment.”
Earlier in the reception, Bahrain’s ambassador to the UK was applauded by the room of diplomats, ministers and Labour Party members when he called for a two-state solution and for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side.
Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said: “Courage in foreign policy is not about choosing the easy path. It's about doing what is right. The two-state solution is the only just and durable future, where the two nations can live side by side in peace, security, and in dignity for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
He also praised the British government’s “renowned commitment to peace and stability in the wider region, and its condemnation of the unprovoked, unlawful, and appalling Iranian attacks against the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries, Jordan, and beyond”.
His words were echoed by Stephen Doughty, the Middle East minister, who told the event: “We have to work for peace across the Middle East, and we have to ensure that if we say a two-state solution. We have to mean that, and that means standing for a secure Israel and a secure Palestine. And we will continue to follow that through.”
Labour parliamentarians and Arab ambassadors at a reception at the Labour Party's annual conference (TheJC)[Missing Credit]