Corbyn says UK will recognise Palestine if Labour Party elected: reports

Published September 28, 2018
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, gives a press conference after the meeting with senior EU officials in Brussels after warning he may oppose any Brexit deal negotiated by the London government, at Berlaymont building on September 27, 2018. ─ AFP
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, gives a press conference after the meeting with senior EU officials in Brussels after warning he may oppose any Brexit deal negotiated by the London government, at Berlaymont building on September 27, 2018. ─ AFP

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, while addressing an annual party conference on Wednesday, said Labour "will recognise a Palestinian state as soon as we take office", Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

According to the report, Corbyn said that the Labour Party was in favour of a two-state solution, and said that "the continuing occupation, the expansion of illegal settlements and the imprisonment of Palestinian children are an outrage."

During the conference, party members also passed a motion criticising Israel, as a senior lawmaker warned that the party must root out anti-Semitism.

Since Corbyn’s election as Labour leader, allegations of anti-Semitism in the party have grown. Some in the party have claimed that Corbyn, a longtime critic of Israeli actions against the Palestinians, has allowed abuse to go unchecked.

Corbyn maintains that "there is no place whatsoever for anti-Semitism in our society."

"There has to be a peace process, and there has to be a right of the Palestinian people to live in peace, as well as the right of Israel [to live in peace]," he said earlier this year.

According to Haaretz, Labour Party Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said that the party must kick out "sickening individuals who use our legitimate support for Palestine as a cloak and a cover for their despicable hatred of Jewish people."

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