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Israel is furious. EU lawmakers voted in

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a resolution to recognize Palestine as a

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state. It's non-binding, but 498

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for and 88 against. It's part of a

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sweeping European drive towards

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recognition. The EU Parliament's move

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comes after politicians in the UK,

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Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and France

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gave their symbolic backing to the

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Palestinians recently. Sweden was one of

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the first major European countries to

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officially recognize Palestine. What's

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more, the European Court of Justice

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removed Hamas from a blacklist of terror

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organizations, but added it would keep a

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ban on funding to the group for at least

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three months.

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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called

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the vote a staggering example of

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European hypocrisy, but Paul Hersen from

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the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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took a softer approach.

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Uh the truth of the matter is is that we

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don't have a difference of opinion on

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substance, but we do have a very real

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difference of opinion on on process with

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with some of the players. uh in that we

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we we believe that they are making

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conflict resolution uh far more

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difficult by encouraging the

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Palestinians not to return to the

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negotiating table, but other than that

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uh we don't have a substantive

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difference with the with the what we're

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seeing in Europe. Palestinian officials

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say they will push ahead with a bid for

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statehood at the UN despite a warning

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the US would block the move. Well,

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joining us in the now is British MP

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George Galloway from London. Thanks for

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being with us. Uh tell us European

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diplomats said Palestinian officials

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were disappointed by the wording of the

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motion. They wanted the parliament to

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recognize today. They wanted this to go

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through. How fair is their

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disappointment?

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Uh I think it's fair. Uh indeed I myself

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was disappointed in the wording of the

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British Parliament resolution, but it's

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nonetheless a positive sign in both

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cases that they were in the British case

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decisively voted through and in the

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European Parliament case uh fairly uh

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straightforward victory for the

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Palestinian side. In the British

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Parliament, the supporters of Israel

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could scarcely muster two dozen votes

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against And as you pointed out, there's

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a wave of these recognition motions now

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going through. In the Irish Parliament,

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it was unanimous. Not a single member of

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the Irish Parliament voted against it.

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And I, as half an Irishman, I'm

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particularly proud of that. Uh, but it's

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one country after another, one decision

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after another. This is the zeitgeist.

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And uh Netanyahu is right to be unhappy

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because the tide is going out for his

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brand of extremist uh politics. His

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apartheite system is beginning to creek

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and crack and soon I think it will fall

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apart at the seams. There's no doubt

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that this symbolic gesture is a positive

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one. But what's the point of non-binding

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votes? How does it affect the peace

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process?

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Well, it makes the weather uh you see if

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Israel believes that it can continue to

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rely uh on international butressing

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support, financial, trading, military,

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diplomatic, media support, then there is

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no incentive whatsoever. I had to laugh

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at the Israeli spokesman a moment ago on

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your show saying that it was

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discouraging the Palestinians from

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returning to the negotiating table. I

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didn't know actually whether to laugh or

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cry. These negotiations have been going

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on for 20 years since the Oslo agreement

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was signed. Not a cime of Palestine is

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free. On the contrary, new settlements

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are being announced and being built uh

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almost every week. Uh the people who are

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refusing to negotiate or deliver that

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which they've already negotiated are of

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course Netanyahu's Israel. So thought it

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could go on. Mr. Galloway, Israel will

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never admit to that. So what's a

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realistic way out of this? We know that

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Israel won't go for that. Even if they

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pretend, as you're suggesting, to want

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peace, to want a two-state solution.

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Everyone knows the truth is that they're

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not going to go for it.

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Well, a surgeon cannot be expected to

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operate on his own foot. Somebody else

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has to carry out the operation. And the

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somebody else in this case are those

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countries around the world, including

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Europe, but principally the United

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States, who have effectively given

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Israel a blank check to do whatever it

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likes whenever it likes, will have to

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tear up that check. And these indicative

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votes, these non-binding resolutions are

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all signs that the blank check is no

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more. It's been torn up. And this has to

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objectively push Israel into a position

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uh that they will have to make some kind

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of deal. And if they don't make it soon,

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the deal they will eventually make will

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be worse than the deal that they could

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make. Now I always use as my comparator

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as someone who was deeply involved in

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the struggle against aparite in South

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Africa. The clerk did not reach an

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agreement with Mandela because he

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suddenly liked the look of Mandela or

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because he was a a a person who

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genuinely believed in justice and

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therefore peace. He did it because he

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had no alternative. He could see looming

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a point in time at which white capital

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and the rights and privileges of white

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people would be severely compromised if

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apartheite was not brought to an end. In

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that case the internal resistance of the

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people of South Africa were the anvil

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and the hammer uh was international

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solidarity ostracism of aparite boycott

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divestment sanctions all the things that

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we're now trying to deploy in the case

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of Israel Palestine. So Netanyahu, if he

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can't change, will have to be changed

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and Israel will have to understand that

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its days as an apartheite state are

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coming to an end. And they'd be better

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to negotiate in good order to make an

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agreement that at least gives them some

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of what they would like rather than wait

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to a moment even less fortuitous than

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the moment we have now. All right. Just

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briefly, Mr. Galloway, I want to ask you

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this. Is it possible going to be

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possible to rip up that check as you say

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with the current policy we're seeing

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coming out of Washington?

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I think so. Uh Barack Obama has shown

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today a boldness uh on Cuba which no one

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expected at least of all me as someone

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been involved in it for decades. I think

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that Obama's now thinking about his

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legacy. uh he doesn't have much to show

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for six years as the United States first

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black president and a man who went to

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Cairo soon after his first election and

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announced a new era for the United

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States relations with the Muslim world

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and in the Middle East. So I think that

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the Israelis are worried that Obama's

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boldness in Cuba will soon be replicated

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with a boldness towards the Middle East.

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That's a very optimistic statement.

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George Galloway, British MP with us in

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the now from London. Thanks so much.

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Thank you.