The Israeli Labor Party, and definitely myself, are fully committed to Palestinian statehood, and we call for it from every podium in Israel and abroad. With all due respect, we don’t have prove it to anyone.

British politicians and citizens who want to see a Palestinian state living in peace and security next to a secure Israel ought to realize that recognition by third states of Palestine is counterproductive.

The argument about this being effective pressure which would positively affect Israeli voting patterns is false. I have yet to meet the Likud voter who chose to vote for Labor because of a purely symbolic vote in a European parliament.

On the contrary, I have met many centrist voters (whose votes we seek) who, as a result of such symbolic actions, are only further entrenched in their view that Europe is with the Palestinians and against Israel, if not the Jews. Such acts empower the Israeli Right, who ask Israelis: If we cannot trust Europe to be sensible when it comes to simple declarative steps then how can we entrust our security to European forces in the context of a peace agreement? The Israeli Right asks Israelis: If Europe makes moves unilaterally, do they really care about Israel’s needs in this crazy region we call the Middle East? Even worse, such acts also empower those Palestinians who advocate internationalization of the conflict even though in their heart of hearts they know that a Palestinian state that actually exercises sovereign power cannot materialize without Israel’s active consent. Thus, such purported signals of support for the two-state solution only end up pushing the two nations to further escalate.

Read the article in full at the Jerusalem Post.