Left Foot Forward spoke to the Palestinian ambassador to the UK at Lib Dem Conference
Speaking to Left Foot Forward at the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference in Brighton, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK Dr Husam Zomlot has said that public support across the globe for the Palestinian people is a ‘source of hope’.
Zomlot made the comments in a brief interview after he spoke at two events at the conference. At the first of those events – a fringe meeting hosted by Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine – Zomlot had said that “hope must not be underestimated – I cannot stress this enough”.
He went on to say “hope is a prerequisite for a just and lasting peace, and we really need a just and lasting peace,” before adding “we have to believe in our hearts that peace is possible, that justice is possible, that the equal application of international law is possible.”
Later, Left Foot Forward asked Zomlot what gives him hope. He started by saying that the resilience of the Palestinian people is what gives him hope.
Zomlot said: “You’ve got to have hope because you represent the cause of a people that are hopeful. If they were not hopeful, they would not have been able to withstand all this pressure, to survive, to stay on their land, to remain.
“After all these years, after the ethnic cleansing of the Nakba of 1948, literally removing two thirds of our people from their homes and farms, then all the way to a genocide now in Gaza, still our people are able to withstand is a source of hope.”
Zomlot went on to say that the support of the public in the UK and across the world – including its expression through demonstrations in major cities – are also a source for hope.
He told Left Foot Forward: “And also, a source of hope is this unprecedented international public opinion and support which you see always now regularly on the streets of London and Manchester and Cardiff and Edinburgh and all over the UK and all over the world – you’re talking about millions upon millions.
“So all these are sources of hope and I believe that if you or anyone believe deep in their heart in that then you have hope. And hope is a very important thing.”
Left Foot Forward spoke to Zomlot after he spoke at a reception hosted by Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians.
The reception was attended by a number of Lib Dem MPs including Steff Aquarone, Josh Babarinde and Callum Miller. The party’s deputy leader Daisy Cooper addressed the reception. She described the situation in Gaza as a “humanitarian catastrophe” and said that the Liberal Democrats would “campaign day in, day out to create that political space for a two-state solution”.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: Steve Eason – Creative Commons
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