“Recognition must not become just a line in history books. It must be the launchpad for justice.”
Marwan Yaghi, Political Officer for the Palestinian Mission
Marwan Yaghi, Political Officer for the Palestinian Mission, was amongst the speakers at Palestine – the Defining Issue of Our Time, an event held by Labour & Palestine in Liverpool on the eve of 2025 party conference. You can read a version of his speech published below.
Friends, sisters, brothers,
Thank you for gathering here in Liverpool today and thank you for standing with the Palestinian people in our darkest hour. I bring you greetings from the Palestinian Mission- soon to become Embassy- from our Ambassador, Dr. Husam Zomlot, and from our people who are holding on- in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in exile- with extraordinary courage and resilience, however, with a lot of suffering and pain.
It is good to be here with you again. I stood with you on this very same day, very same place last year, speaking about the very same issue. And it truly feels like yesterday. But a lot has happened since then- and much of it was achieved thanks to you, your solidarity, and your tireless work.
Last year we spoke about recognition as a demand, as a campaign. This year, I stand before you after the United Kingdom has officially recognised the State of Palestine. That step would not have been possible without your voices, your organising, and your commitment.
And while Gaza burns, the West Bank is being strangled in silence.
The land is shrinking before your eyes. Palestinian towns are walled off with gates, barbed wire, and death-checkpoints.
Settler terrorism is constant, armed and protected by the state.
Homes are demolished, families displaced, fields burned. Communities transformed into ghettos.
And alongside this physical assault is an economic one. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians no longer have jobs. Families have no salaries. People are struggling to breathe, not just metaphorically, but literally- there is no oxygen left in our daily lives.
This is not simply a conflict. It is not two sides equal in power. This is a campaign of erasure: the attempt to erase a people, erase a nation, erase memory and presence itself.
And yet, despite this darkness a light, a hope, came when Britain last Sunday Joined the growing number of Nations who have recognised Palestine as a state.
However, let us pause here. Recognition did not happen in a vacuum. It happened because of you. It happened because of years of solidarity, years of organising, years of pressure from movements, unions, MPs, campaigners, ordinary people who refused to be silent. So on behalf of the Palestinian People, I say: thank you.
But let’s be clear recognition is not the end. Recognition is the beginning.
The real work begins now.
Because what does recognition mean if, even as we speak, children are buried under rubble in Gaza?
What does it mean if settlements expand daily, if settlers torch villages, if an apartheid system remains unchallenged?
If the Genocide in Gaza still ongoing?
Recognition is only meaningful if it is followed by accountability. And accountability means action.
So, what does that action look like?
- It means a full arms embargo on Israel: no British weapons, no British parts, no British complicity in killing Palestinian families.
- It means sanctions on all the Israeli government: on the top of it, Benjamin Netanyahu and his criminal ministers who are driving this campaign of erasure.
- It means banning settlement goods from the UK market, just as the world once did with apartheid South Africa.
- It means political isolation for a government that commits crimes against humanity while thumbing its nose at international law.
Because here is the truth: we have been down the road of ‘peace processes’ and ‘negotiations.’ But all failed. And why did they fail? Because Israel was never held accountable. Because impunity became the rule. Because the world gave it more time, more land, more excuses.
Friends, today there is a ceasefire plan on the table. It calls for an end to the war, the release of hostages and prisoners, reconstruction funded by Arab states, and a path to the two-state solution.
It is possible. It is achievable.
But only if there is the political will- here in the UK, in Europe, in the United States, to force accountability on Israel.
And that is why recognition must not become just a line in history books. It must be the launchpad for justice. It must be the moment when the UK said: “Enough. We recognised Palestine, and now we will act to end the occupation of Palestine.”
The Palestinian struggle has always been about more than territory. It is about our very existence. About our right to live in dignity in our homeland, free from fear, free from domination. For over 100 years, we have endured dispossession, colonialism, occupation, apartheid, and now Genocide.
Friends my last message, Recognition gives us hope. But only action will give us freedom.
So, I say to you: do not wash your hands after recognition. Roll up your sleeves.
This is the time to intensify pressure, to demand sanctions, to demand justice, to demand accountability.
Brothers and Sisters, Liverpool knows something about solidarity. Trade unions, workers, activists — you have always been on the right side of history. Whether it was apartheid South Africa, whether it was global struggles for justice, you know that change does not come from above. It comes when ordinary people organise and demand it.
That is what you have done for Palestine. That is why the UK recognised us last week. And that is why, together, we can take the next step — from recognition to accountability, from symbolism to justice, from hope to freedom.
Our people in Gaza, in the West Bank, in the refugee camps and the diaspora are watching. They are listening. And they take strength from your solidarity.
Let us not stop here. Let us make sure that this recognition is remembered not as the end of a journey, but as the beginning of a new one.
Thank you.
- Mawan Yaghi is the Political Officer for the Palestinian Mission – you can follow him on Twitter/X and Instagram.
- You can follow Labour & Palestine on Facebook and Twitter/X.
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