Interfaith union remains strong in Bournemouth despite scepticism towards the likelihood of peace between Israel and Palestine, following the UK Parliament’s vote in favour of Palestinian statehood.
The UK’s Israel Embassy has warned about a “premature recognition of Palestine” after the MP’s vote on October 14th.
“A unilateral call for premature recognition of Palestine will not advance peace,” said a spokesman from UK’s Israel’s embassy . He added: “ This undermines the efforts of those working to bring a real and lasting change.”
In Bournemouth, members of the Palestinian community expressed disillusion about the vote. “I was very happy hearing about it but at the same time everyone here feels disheartened,” said Abu Kareem, owner of a Palestinian Food Store in Winton. “We have been talking about the conflict for about sixty years and we are sure this vote won’t make any difference.”
Majid Yasin, president of Bournemouth Islamic Centre says: “Politics plays a big role in every conflict but religions should take an active part in promoting peace and union between faiths.” He added: “In Bournemouth we have a really strong interfaith dialogue and we organize many different multicultural events in order to promote union and mutual respect.”
For 23 years the international community has intermediated the Palestinian -Israel peace talks, but it has never led to any solution. Both Israelis and Palestinians appear disheartened and doubtful of change, due to the many negative experiences they’ve had so far.
