East Londoners urge Tower Hamlets council to recognise Palestine

A London-based pro-Palestine group has launched a petition to urge Tower Hamlets council to recognise the State of Palestine, amid fears of a crackdown on free speech.

The Palestine Information Centre of Tower Hamlets has called on East Londoners to sign the online petition after waiting two months to hear the council's decision on a request submitted in December.

Around 500 East London residents in the borough have so far signed the petition.

“The East End of Tower Hamlets has been at the forefront of struggles that have defined our lives from Cable Street to Brick Lane and beyond. Palestine is the most moral cause of our time," Ajmal Masroor of the Palestine Information Centre of Tower Hamlets said in a statement on Wednesday.

The centre has called on the council to recognise the State of Palestine, hold an annual Palestine Festival to encourage awareness about the plight of the Palestinian people, including Nakba Day, remind schools and other public bodies of their obligations to uphold free speech on Palestine, and twin Tower Hamlets with the West Bank city of Jenin.

As international scrutiny grows around Israel's conduct in Gaza, especially following a provisional ICJ ruling, Britain signalled it could recognise Palestine

Will the UK's words be backed by actions? https://t.co/oshbwqLJLQ

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) February 8, 2024

"We’ve launched this petition as a means of going door-to-door, speaking to local residents about the issue of Palestine, explaining why it's important, what they can do, as citizens of the UK in a constructive way, to stop the genocide, but also make sure it doesn’t happen again," Puru Miah, Former Tower Hamlets Labour councillor, told The New Arab.

 “The hope is that if we get it up in Tower Hamlets, other communities in other areas can see our campaign as a template and do the same thing.

While the petition has not been rejected or approved, the local authority has said it is with the monitoring officer, but the centre is waiting for a conclusion.

The Palestine Information Centre of Tower Hamlets is hoping for the borough to become the second Council in the United Kingdom, after Sheffield City, to recognise the State.

Miah says the petition aims "not only to get the council to recognise Palestine, but the main thing is to get the conversation out there".

The centre was set up in November 2023 following a meeting of over 700 people in the borough who pledged to take civic action to try and help stop Israel's actions in Palestine.

Around one hundred protesters, waving Palestinian flags and holding anti-war banners, gathered outside the event on Tuesday for the UK’s leading arms and security companies.https://t.co/xmJOiFikKi

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) February 1, 2024

The petition also aims to protect free speech on Palestine in Tower Hamlets, following a campaign to take down Palestine flags put up by residents.

The borough received a legal letter from pro-Israel lawyers last month urging them to remove Palestinian flags, posters, and stickers containing allegedly "inflammatory" messages.

As well as tackling challenges to free expression in their borough, the petition's backers hope the initiative will lead to broader change in UK policy towards Palestine.

"The UK government is the main backer of the current framework in Palestine, and therefore, we, as citizens of the UK, have a duty to put pressure on our government to change its stance, and one of the ways is basically getting local authorities to recognise the state of Palestine," Miah said.

There have been concerns about free speech in the UK, US and Germany following a spate of sackings and other actions against pro-Palestine voices.