“The Palestinian people have an inalienable right to self-determination which must be realised in practice, including their right to an independent state of Palestine.”
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn has written the letter to Boris Johnson below, sharing it with the following comment on social media:
“I’ve written to Boris Johnson demanding urgent clarification of his government’s position on Trump’s ‘peace plan’ for Israel – Palestine. Is he really prepared to abandon the most basic principles of human rights and international law?“
” Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing following statements made by your government in response to US President Donald Trump’s so-called ‘peace plan’ for Israel and Palestine, announced on 28 January. Some of these statements have given the impression that your government is prepared to depart from important positions of principle held by successive British administrations of all political persuasions. This in turn raises critical questions as to the integrity of your government in relation to international law.
Please will you confirm, as a matter of urgency, that your government continues to uphold the basic principles of international law which apply in the case of Israel/Palestine, namely that:
· The settlements constructed by Israel in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law, and any annexation of those settlements by Israel would represent a fundamental breach of the international legal order.
· The Jordan Valley is under military occupation by Israel, and any attempt to annex that territory would also be entirely contrary to international law.
· The Palestinian people have an inalienable right to self-determination which must be realised in practice, including their right to an independent state of Palestine.
· Any independent state of Palestine must be based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
· Palestinian refugees who were forced to flee their homes in 1948, or subsequently, have the right to return to those homes.
In view of the gravity of the situation facing the Palestinian people, and statements from the Israeli government indicating that it now wishes to begin a process of annexation that would violate the above principles of international law, I would be grateful for a response to these questions at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Corbyn.”
