Palestinian mission in London raises flag after recognition

A flag-raising ceremonial was held extracurricular the Palestinian ngo successful London connected Monday, a time aft the UK announced it would recognise the State of Palestine, on with Australia, Canada and Portugal.

Other countries, including France, are owed to travel suit successful recognising Palestinian statehood astatine the yearly UN General Assembly that opens Monday successful New York.

Head of Mission Husam Zomlot hailed the “long overdue” designation arsenic the emblem was raised successful beforehand of a assemblage extracurricular the gathering successful Hammersmith successful westbound London.

Holding up a plaque speechmaking “Embassy of the State of Palestine”, Zomlot said it would beryllium enactment up soon, “pending immoderate ineligible work, immoderate bureaucratic work”.

He called the designation determination an “acknowledgement of a historical injustice” astatine a clip of “unimaginable suffering” for the Palestinian radical successful the warfare successful Gaza.

He said the UK’s designation had peculiar resonance arsenic Britain was pivotal successful laying the groundwork for the instauration of the State of Israel successful 1948, done the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Palestinian Authority could present “set up an embassy and an ambassador successful the UK”.

“We volition acceptable retired the diplomatic steps with the Palestinian Authority, determination volition beryllium a bid of antithetic stages and processes to spell through,” Cooper told the BBC.

“On that applicable broadside the astir important happening is that it’s portion of that process to support everyone moving towards a two-state solution,” she added.

Questioned connected erstwhile the British consulate successful eastbound Jerusalem would go an embassy, Cooper said it had been determination for longer than the Israeli state, “so it volition proceed for now, and we volition acceptable retired the diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority”.

Following Sunday’s announcement, Britain’s overseas ministry updated its question proposal leafage to region the notation to “Occupied Palestinian territories”, replacing it with “Palestine”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the propulsion for designation arsenic “absurd”, saying it would “endanger” Israel’s existence.

He has besides vowed to accelerate the instauration of caller settlements successful the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The warfare successful Gaza follows Hamas’s onslaught connected confederate Israel connected October 7, 2023 that resulted successful the deaths of 1,219 people, astir of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of authoritative figures.

Israel’s retaliatory run has killed astatine slightest 65,208 people, besides mostly civilians, according to figures from the wellness ministry successful Hamas-run Gaza, which the UN considers reliable.

The station Palestinian ngo successful London raises emblem aft recognition appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.