Palestine raises flag in London as UK recognises Palestinian state

Palestine’s Ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, addressed supporters outside the Palestine Mission in central London as it formally transitions into Palestine’s embassy.

“We are gathered today in front of the Palestinian Mission to the UK here in London to mark a historic moment,” Zomlot said, describing Britain’s recognition of Palestine as long overdue.
Holding up a plaque, he told the crowd: “Very soon, pending some legal work, some bureaucratic work … this plaque, which reads ‘The Embassy of the State of Palestine’ … will be placed right behind me on this building.”
Zomlot said the move was “not only about Palestine, it is also about Britain and the British government’s solemn responsibility”.
He added: “It is about ending the denial of the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to freedom and self-determination and it is an acknowledgement of a historic injustice.”
The ambassador called the recognition of Palestine “righting historic wrongs” and urged the crowd to remember that it came during “a time of unimaginable pain and suffering as a genocide is being waged against us”.
“It comes as our people in Gaza are being starved, bombed, and buried under the rubble of their homes; as our people in the West Bank are being ethnically cleansed, brutalised by daily state-sponsored terrorism, land theft and suffocating oppression,” he said.
Zomlot described the moment as “a defiant act of truth, a refusal to let genocide be the final word; a refusal to accept that occupation is permanent; a refusal to be erased and a refusal to be dehumanised.”
After his speech, the Palestinian flag was raised outside the new embassy building.
“Please join me as we raise the flag of Palestine with its colours representing our nation: Black for our mourning, white for our hope, green for our land and red for the sacrifices of our people,” Zomlot said.
He added: “We raise it in honour of the long journey of the Palestinian people towards freedom and justice and in honour of the millions of freedom-loving people in Britain and around the world.”
“We raise it as a pledge that Palestine will live, Palestine will rise and Palestine will be free,” he concluded.