LABOUR MPs have thrown their weight behind a campaign demanding an apology and reparations from the UK to Palestine for alleged historic international law violations.
Speaking alongside campaigner Munib Al-Masri Senior, 91, who travelled from the West Bank to Liverpool to address Labour delegates at the party’s conference, Labour MPs Simon Opher, Afzal Khan and John McDonnell showed their support for the Britain Owes Palestine campaign by addressing the impact of UK’s legacy in Palestine.
The campaign calls on ministers to acknowledge and apologise for Britain’s war crimes in Palestine between 1917 and 1948.
Stroud MP Opher was denied entry by Israel when attempting to assist healthcare workers in the West Bank earlier this month.
He was travelling with fellow Labour MP Peter Prinsley as part of a visit organised by the Council for Arab-British Understanding to observe medical and humanitarian work carried out by various organisations, including Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).
Opher (above, middle) said: “They can stop me entering the country, but they can’t stop me speaking out.
“Many of the problems today started with Britain’s legacy through the Balfour declaration. It’s right to acknowledge Britain’s role.”
Former shadow chancellor McDonnell added: “Britain does owe Palestine. We owe an apology and we owe the Palestinian people a better future.”
A petition was handed in at Number 10 earlier this month demanding the UK take responsibility for “serial international law violations”.
The 400-page legal document launched the campaign and demanded official UK acknowledgement of “wrongdoing, apology and reparations for creating a century of oppression”.
The petition’s organisers said it details Britain’s “unlawful legacy” including the Balfour Declaration in 1917 which stated support for establishing a home for Jewish people in Palestine, “acting as an occupying power during its self-granted mandate” and “subsequent systematic abuse of the Palestinian people”.
Manchester MP Khan said: “It was great to meet Munib Al Masri and hear more about his fight for justice with Britain Owes Palestine. I welcome his campaign, and I hope the British Government is listening to the experience of Palestinians.”
Al Masri was shot by British soldiers in Palestine in 1944 and his grandson, Munib Al Masri Junior – who joined the meeting at Labour conference by video link – was shot by Israeli forces in 2011 during a peaceful protest.
Al Masri Senior said: “I want to see a future like the past we enjoyed before the Balfour declaration, with Arabs and Jews living together in peace.
“That is what the Palestinian people want, and it is what so many in the Labour Party want. It has been an honour to be here today. Now we need to see Labour live up to its values in government and issue a full apology for the past wrongs Britain committed in our land.”
