Jeremy Corbyn has attacked governments which “pay lip service” to a proposed two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Labour leader said those in power “do nothing to use the leverage they have to end the oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people”.
In a major speech at the United Nations in Geneva, Mr Corbyn also renewed his attack on Donald Trump for announcing the United States would recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
He said the US President’s decision was “not only reckless and provocative – it risks setting back any prospect of a political settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict”.
Mr Corbyn outlined his positions on tax avoidance, Brexit negotiations and a series of global issues during the address on Friday.
In his comments on Israel and the Palestinians he went on to call for the UN to work with Israeli peace campaign groups to “demand an end to the multiple human rights abuses Palestinians face on a daily basis”.
After attacking the government’s policies on Yemen and Myanmar, Mr Corbyn added: “And our governments pay lip service to a comprehensive settlement and two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, but do nothing to use the leverage they have to end the oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people.
“Seventy years after the UN General Assembly voted to create a Palestinian state alongside what would become Israel, and half a century since Israel occupied the whole of historic Palestine, they should take a lead from Israeli peace campaigners such as Gush Shalom and Peace Now and demand an end to the multiple human rights abuses Palestinians face on a daily basis.”
Mr Corbyn said the “continued occupation and illegal settlements are violations of international law, and are a barrier to peace”. He made no reference to Palestinian terror attacks or groups such as Hamas.
The Labour leader also said it was “no time” to reject the Iran nuclear deal, which he called “a significant achievement agreed between Iran and a group of world power to reduce tensions”.
There should be “no more bomb first and think and talk later” approach to foreign policy, and “no more double standards”, he said.
