UK: Shockat Adam presents bill recognising Palestinian state to parliament

Independent MP Shockat Adam has presented a bill to the UK parliament backed by MPs across multiple parties for the recognition of the State of Palestine.

If the bill is passed, Britain will join 146 other UN member states in diplomatically recognising the State of Palestine. 

The bill’s sponsors include independent MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed and Ayoub Khan - all elected on a pro-Gaza platform in July alongside Shockat Adam, who has presented the bill. 

Also sponsoring the bill is Sian Berry from the Green Party, Brendan O’Hara and Stephen Gethins from the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Liz Saville-Roberts from Welsh party Plaid Cymru.

Backbencher Kim Johnson is the only Labour MP to sponsor the bill. Ian Byrne, another sponsor, was recently a Labour MP but lost the whip after opposing the government’s two-child benefit cap and now sits in parliament as an independent. 

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Key to determining whether the bill will pass in the event of a vote is Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who would likely decide on the way Labour MPs will vote.

Since Labour has a strong majority, the party’s support will be necessary for the bill to pass, especially since the largest opposition party, the Conservatives, are considered unlikely to support it.

In Labour’s election manifesto, the party committed to recognising a Palestinian state “as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution”.

Reports suggested in June that Starmer would delay recognising a Palestinian state over concerns it could put the UK at odds with the United States. 

That same month, 25 UN experts called for states to recognise Palestinian sovereignty as a matter of urgency, on the grounds that Palestinian self-determination “is a precondition for lasting peace in Palestine and the entire Middle East”.

'A path to peace'

Shockat Adam, who unseated Labour’s Jon Ashworth in Leicester South in July, said: “Israel has done everything in its capacity to try and destroy any chance of Palestinian statehood - through settlement, land theft and now the wholesale decimation of Gaza. 

“UK recognition of the Palestinian state will help reinforce the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, in a way that cannot be vetoed by Israel. 

“This would initiate a path to peace for everyone in the region and not be at the expense of any community.”

'Israel has done everything in its capacity to try and destroy any chance of Palestinian statehood'

 - Shockat Adam MP

The move comes after Starmer said last week he is "looking at" sanctioning Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as well as the National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over "abhorrent" comments they made about Palestinians.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy also announced fresh sanctions against three Israeli settler outposts and four organisations he said are responsible for "heinous abuses of human rights" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. 

This latest development comes as political pressure mounts on the British government to take stronger action against Israel.

Nearly 50 British MPs from seven political parties so far have backed a parliamentary motion tabled last week calling for the Labour government to take measures, including "ending all military exports to Israel, banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements, and revoking the 2030 Roadmap which deepens UK economic, trade and security ties with Israel."