The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted (138-9, with 41 abstensions) to offer Palestine non-member observer status. Unsurprisingly, Israel and its lapdog, the US, opposed the move. Switzerland voted in favour, yay Switzerland!!!

And the UK? While not totally dishonouring yourselves by voting in favour of the Jewish jackboot, you simply sat on the sidelines. It could've been 139-9, and the UK could've held its head higher as a proud bastion of democracy.

Given our track record in that area, I think it's probably best we just keep out of it.

Do keep up. Canada is now Israel's staunchest ally. Our current idiot PM has his head so far up Netanyahu's ass, it's embarrassing.

As long as the UK takes a similarly neutral position in discussions/votes that favour Israel, you make a fair point. But to divide a territory, and then recognise one of the ensuing states but not the other is hypocrisy IMO.

Hopefully those countries that got their butts slapped and sent running will recognise democracy in action, and not take spiteful revenge by removing financial support when they don't get their own way. I'm looking more at Clinton than Baird.

If only more people took that attitude to things.

"The Harper Gummint of Canada", aka "Israel's Best Friend", not to be confused with "Canada", proudly joined with the other influential, international vanguard states Panama, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands and Micronesia in one, thundering "NO!!!".

I'm not talking about neutrality, I'm talking about avoiding doing more damage. We have a history of fucking that region up. But yes, I wasn't entirely serious.

I don't think it's anything like as straightforward as you paint it. People are worryingly keen to support a country whose people are launching rockets attacks at that country's neighbours. I don't think they'd have that support if the target of those attacks were anything but Jews.

Yes, Isreal commits its share of atrocities too. But they're already a country, already recognised, they have a relatively stable government, economy and jurisprudential system. Of course recognising Palestine would help it move towards such things but we don't tend to endorse proto-states whose government is complicit in the murder of civilians, regardless of the provocation. And rightly so, I think.

But all of that is beside the point. It's an incredibly complex and unstable situation and I trust the people whose job it is to be better informed and educated about it than I am. They don't do this shit just on a whim.

Much of what you say cuts both ways. And the UK couldn't do much more damage that the two sides do to each other. Sins of the past don't negate responsibility for the future.

Anyway, Palestine is recognised by the UN now, and I for one think it's a good thing.

Me too.