Jeremy Corbyn, a member of the British Parliament and former leader of the British Labour Party, said that the British government “has been supplying Israel with weapons and military equipment all along, which enabled all of this to happen,” referring to the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza.
He added, in a statement to Al-Quds Al-Arabi on the sidelines of his participation in an event organized by the Palestinian Forum in Britain on the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reluctantly agreed to recognize Palestine after considerable pressure, and this was done. But in reality, it doesn't seem to me that this has made much of a difference in the British government's approach to the entire region, and its continued supply of weapons to Israel, which are of course used to kill the Palestinian people.
An event in London honored survivors of the 1948 massacres and listened to their testimonies.
Regarding the demonstration that took place in London last weekend on the anniversary of the Nakba, which coincided with a demonstration organized by the far-right Tommy Robinson, Corbyn said: “The far right in the United Kingdom believes it is on the rise. Last Saturday, their so-called large demonstration, called ‘Unite the Kingdom,’ was not large at all, and was apparently accompanied by many cases of drunkenness and disorderly conduct.”
He added: “The alternative march, the march against racism and in support of the Palestinian people, was very large, well organized, very disciplined, and no problems occurred.”
He continued: “The far right supports Israel because the United States does so, and because Elon Musk, who funds the far right in Britain, does so as well.”
Corbyn: The far right supports Israel because the US does, and Elon Musk funds it.
In response to a question about what he meant by saying that the West Bank is also experiencing genocide, Corbyn said: “The West Bank is now suffering from the continued construction of settlements and a very large increase in settler violence, with weapons from Israel to carry it out. Acts of genocide are not necessarily bombing from the sky. They can be all kinds of things, including the persecution of certain groups or the attempt to remove a certain group. The removal of Palestinians and their villages from their homes falls under the provisions of the Genocide Convention.”
We asked him about the motivations behind the emotional fervor reflected in his speech about the Nakba, and he said: “The Nakba was indeed a horrific historical event in 1948. Now we have a second Nakba that Israel is trying to carry out when it tries to push the Palestinian people from Gaza to Sinai, and from the West Bank to Jordan. So, what we have is a story of horror in the way the Palestinian people have been treated. Our mission here in Britain is to show support and solidarity with the Palestinian people, not to tell them how to conduct their struggle.”
Honorees at the Nakba event in London
He added: “We are here tonight to commemorate the Nakba. We have listened to wonderful memories from people who suffered in the Nakba as children. We salute the struggle of the Palestinian people, their music, art, culture, determination, and the heartbreaking stories of what the genocide did: the killing of children, the destruction of life. So tonight was an act of remembrance and commemoration, but also of solidarity.”
The Palestinian Forum in Britain held a special commemorative event on Monday evening in west London, honoring Palestinian witnesses of the Nakba and survivors of the 1948 massacres, under the patronage of Corbyn. The event brought together political, human rights, and artistic figures, along with members of the Palestinian community and British supporters of the Palestinian cause.
The event was attended by independent MPs Ayub Khan and Iqbal Mohammed, a number of representatives of the Green Party, as well as activists and influencers, including Nicole Jeans, Irish activist Tedge, Ahmed, owner of the Propaganda platform, and activist and Holocaust survivor Stephen Capos.
Adnan Hamidan, head of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, stressed in his speech that honoring the witnesses of the Nakba carries great human and national value, stressing the need to preserve their testimonies and pass them on to future generations, as they are part of the living Palestinian narrative.
The evening included touching moments, most notably the honoring of Ben Jamal, the CEO of the British Palestine Solidarity Movement, after his decision to step down from his position to devote himself to caring for his sick wife, as the audience greeted him with a long round of applause in appreciation of his generosity.The list of honorees included a number of well-known Palestinian figures, including Dr. Ghada Karmi, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hajj Ali, Khalil Al-Noursi, Huda Al-Turk, Fawaz Sadiq Al-Muzaini, Walid Musa Al-Samhan, Mahmoud Al-Agha, and Suad Al-Khatib, while Attallah Saeed and Michel Abdel-Masih were honored in absentia due to their health conditions.
Adnan Hamidan: “Honoring the witnesses of the Nakba carries great human and national value.”
The artistic segments also added an emotional touch to the concert, through the presentation of traditional Palestinian songs about longing and return, with the voices of Asid Maher and Islam Shaaban, and musical accompaniment by Hussein Atwi.
British actress Sarah Al-Agha expressed her deep emotion at the testimonies of the survivors, praising the documentary produced by the “Palestinian Forum”, which reviewed the events of the Nakba supported by real pictures and scenes.
The details of the venue clearly reflected the presence of Palestinian identity, from thyme and olives at the entrance of the hall, to the Palestinian keffiyeh and traditional clothing, all the way to naming the tables after displaced Palestinian villages, such as Tantura, Qastal, Lubya and Ain Ghazal, in a symbolic evocation of Palestinian memory.
This event is seen as the first of its kind in Britain, dedicated to honoring witnesses of the Nakba and listening directly to their accounts, in a step aimed at documenting Palestinian memory and enhancing its presence in public consciousness.
