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By Baroness Tonge - 3rd February 2011
The UK must "recognise Palestine as a sovereign state", urges Baroness Tonge.
The news from the Middle East could not be more depressing for those of us who believe that the Palestinians have suffered enough from an increasingly brutal Israel, and their own weak and sometimes corrupt representatives.
Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, and especially recently in East Jerusalem, is unlawful, involving as it does the eviction of people at short notice followed by the bulldozing of their homes they have occupied for many generations.
The destruction of crops, orange groves, ancient olive trees and the pollution of water supplies continue. Settlements expand and the roads linking them divide the West Bank into separate cantons, which makes a mockery of anyone who thinks a 'two state' solution is progressing.
Gaza is still deprived of any means of rebuilding homes, schools and hospitals after 'Operation Cast Lead'. The people there are malnourished and angry. No-one seems to care. Hamas holds the peace with increasing difficulty, as youngsters with no hope for the future, get more and more militant.
And yet:
The Palestinian representatives have done all that was asked of them by the Quartet and Israel to build their state, and appear to have offered far more than anyone dreamed of to try to achieve a peace agreement, according to recent leaked reports. Israel remains blinkered and stubborn. The peace process is used by them to carry on its expansion into lands given to the Palestinians in 1948. Peace for them is not an option.
It is time now to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state. The UK should join the 106 countries who have already done so, including Brazil and Argentina.
It may revive some angst, but the Middle East is already on the boil. Renewed rocket attacks from a frustrated Gaza, the trouble in Lebanon with Hezbollah increasing, Syria accused of helping Hamas, and the attempt to focus all evil on Iran, all hastens the march towards another war in the Middle East, which could ultimately destroy Israel.
Why do they not see the danger? All else has failed. Let us see UN Resolution 242 implemented, by a UN force if necessary. Set the boundaries and protect them. Tell Israel they have run out of time.
Baroness Tonge, a former GP, served as MP for Richmond Park from 1997 until 2005, when she was raised to the peerage.
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