THE TWO STATE DELUSION

Keir Starmer justified his announcement of the recognition of a Palestinian state on the grounds that he wanted ‘to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution’. This would mean, we were told, ‘a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state’, but presently ‘we have neither’.

Allegedly, a two-state solution was ‘what the British people desperately want to see’. So Starmer might allege, but the British people are not in the Middle East and the British Empire no longer exists. The UK has no business trying to impose a settlement that neither party wants.

Starmer’s declaration that ‘the hostages must be released immediately’ is empty rhetoric. He has not even made his commitment to recognising Palestine dependent upon the release of the hostages.

Starmer might pronounce ‘we are clear this solution is not a reward for Hamas, because it means Hamas can have no future, no role in government, no role in security’, but Hamas regard it as a victory for them and the UK has no means of either removing Hamas nor of keeping them out. Hamas remain popular, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, where elections have not been held for many years and which is highly corrupt. There is no pressure for such elections as Hamas would win. No matter the barbarity of Hamas and the atrocities on October 7, Palestinians still support them. The barbarity is what they will vote for. That renders the supposed solution a delusion; it is a two-state delusion.

Of the ongoing military situation, Starmer declared: ‘The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation, and devastation, are utterly intolerable. Tens of thousands have been killed, including thousands as they tried to collect food and water. This death and destruction horrifies all of us. It must end.’ To say that military action ‘must end’ merely betrays a willingness to leave Hamas in control of Gaza and for the hostages to remain so. Hamas will have to be driven out, and that is the objective to which Israel is committed.

If Gaza wants peace, then it should release the hostages and sue for peace. That should be the unequivocal message.

Starmer was pleased that ‘the first group of sick and injured children’ had been brought to the UK and promised increased ‘humanitarian support’. He further called ‘again on the Israeli government to lift the unacceptable restrictions of the border, stop these cruel tactics, and let the aid surge in’. He ignored that the main problem is that aid already inside Gaza is sitting in UN compounds and is not being distributed. The UN is responsible.

Other Middle East countries are fully capable of treating injured children. There is no need to bring them and their families to the UK. This is grandstanding.

Of the West Bank, Starmer bewailed that, as a result of new Israeli settlements, ‘the hope of a two-state solution is fading. But we cannot let that light go out.’ In other words, his supposed solution is a delusion. It is impractical. It is an attempt to defy reality.

Regarding the domestic situation in the UK, Starmer said: ‘I know the strength of feeling that this conflict provokes. We have seen it on our streets, in our schools, in conversations we’ve had with friends and family. It has created division. Some have used it to stoke hatred and fear, but that solves nothing. Not only must we reject hate, we must redouble our efforts to combat hatred in all its forms.’ In saying this, Starmer let slip the destabilising consequences of mass immigration.

The attempt to impose a settlement is a reminder of the failure of Western policy regarding the civil war that engulfed Yugoslavia and its demise. At one point, the West tried to stop the war by trying to set up a mosaic of different ethnic enclaves in one state. That policy bloodily failed. The West’s commitment to multiculturalism blinded politicians to facts. Eventually, the ethnic cleansing resulted in ethnically homogenous states and NATO firepower prevented further Serb territorial expansion.

The Palestinians do not want to live side-by-side, peacefully, with the Israelis. They want to kill Jews and destroy Israel. Starmer’s announcement will not create a state called Palestine. This is gesture politics at its worst.