>a spokesperson for the Scottish Greens said: “Those defending war crimes would rather distract attention with rows about chants, but the Scottish public can see what is happening in Gaza and that is why the demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians are growing week by week.
>“More than 10,000 Gazans, including at least 3,000 children have already been killed by Israel’s relentless bombing campaign.
>“Palestinians live in two territories, one by the river and the other by the sea. Both suffer from a brutal Israeli occupation and Palestinians living in both deserve freedom and security, just as the people of Israel do.
>“Whilst the UK Government attempts to silence those defending Palestinian rights, the Scottish Greens will always stand against genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
Hell yeah 💚
Beyond the pale
This is a pretty slippery defence:
>Palestinians live in two territories, **one by the river and the other by the sea.** Both suffer from a brutal Israeli occupation and Palestinians living in both deserve freedom and security, just as the people of Israel do.
“From the river to the sea” is not generally understood as simply a reference to the locations of Gaza and the West Bank – it is a call for Palestinian sovereignty from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, including over territory internationally-recognised as Israeli.
I’d have more respect if the Greens said: “We think Israeli settlement building means that there is now no prospect of a viable two-state solution, and therefore we call for a single state with equal rights for Arabs and Jews between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, and our use of the slogan is consistent with that.” I think the ideal of a binational state of Israelis and Palestinians is so idealistic as to be bonkers, but it shouldn’t be beyond the pale to advocate for it.
However, the SGP instead seem to be unwilling to own that – presumably because their manifesto continues to call for a two-state solution which rules out a Palestine which stretches “from the river to the sea”.
3 comments
>a spokesperson for the Scottish Greens said: “Those defending war crimes would rather distract attention with rows about chants, but the Scottish public can see what is happening in Gaza and that is why the demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians are growing week by week.
>“More than 10,000 Gazans, including at least 3,000 children have already been killed by Israel’s relentless bombing campaign.
>“Palestinians live in two territories, one by the river and the other by the sea. Both suffer from a brutal Israeli occupation and Palestinians living in both deserve freedom and security, just as the people of Israel do.
>“Whilst the UK Government attempts to silence those defending Palestinian rights, the Scottish Greens will always stand against genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
Hell yeah 💚
Beyond the pale
This is a pretty slippery defence:
>Palestinians live in two territories, **one by the river and the other by the sea.** Both suffer from a brutal Israeli occupation and Palestinians living in both deserve freedom and security, just as the people of Israel do.
“From the river to the sea” is not generally understood as simply a reference to the locations of Gaza and the West Bank – it is a call for Palestinian sovereignty from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, including over territory internationally-recognised as Israeli.
I’d have more respect if the Greens said: “We think Israeli settlement building means that there is now no prospect of a viable two-state solution, and therefore we call for a single state with equal rights for Arabs and Jews between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, and our use of the slogan is consistent with that.” I think the ideal of a binational state of Israelis and Palestinians is so idealistic as to be bonkers, but it shouldn’t be beyond the pale to advocate for it.
However, the SGP instead seem to be unwilling to own that – presumably because their manifesto continues to call for a two-state solution which rules out a Palestine which stretches “from the river to the sea”.