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REX/Ibrahim Khader
UK News

Church supports recognising Palestine

Members will debate the proposal, which would call on the UK government to unilaterally recognise the state of Palestine.

The motion says: "This House believes that the government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel."

In a joint statement the Church of England and Catholic Church said the right of Palestinians to belong to an independent state was "long overdue".

It said: "At a time of great uncertainty in the Middle East and North Africa, we hold that it is the reasonable aspiration of all peoples to belong to a state and enjoy the merits of full and active citizenship on their own lands.

"We equally believe that the right of Palestinians for such statehood has been long overdue.

"Given the benchmarks established by international law and universal legitimacy, and in light of the support offered by the Christian Church in the Holy Land, we believe Palestinians should also have a state that they can at long last call home.

"Such a principled recognition by our Parliament and Government will facilitate rather than hamper the negotiations that would inevitably follow between Israelis and Palestinians to agree upon the details of this new and sovereign state created next to a secure Israel.

"Peace needs a bold vision."

But Christian Friends of Israel told Premier the move would only complicate things in the region.

Chief executive Jacob Vince said: "The problem with making a big pronouncement is it really doesn't move us much further on.

"It doesn't deal with the issues within the Palestinian authority or the Palestinian territory itself, where you've got Fatah and Hamas."

He added that a vote in favour of the motion would give "traction" to pro-Palestine campaigners and be "spun in a particular way".

But Jeremy Moody from Christian charity Embrace the Middle East rejected that.

He said the motion passing would "create a balance between Israel and Palestine, which would hopefully encourage the two parties to reach a negotiated settlement."

He added: "The current British position is to wait for the conclusion of peace negotiations before recognising Palestine.

"But those, like myself, who've grown frustrated at the lack of progress in the peace talks think that now is the time to redress the balance and recognise that a state of Palestine does exist."

A number of faith-based organisations, including Kairos Britain, Amos Trust and the Quakers, have expressed support for the motion and urged their MPs to attend the vote.

The resolution has the support of most Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs and a number of Tory backbenchers, who have so far been given a free vote on the issue.

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