One year after ‘Britain Owes Palestine’, London shifts on the occupation but not on its own history
A year ago this week, a 400-page legal petition arrived on the desks of the UK Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and the Attorney General, setting out the case that “Britain Owes Palestine” over its unlawful conduct between 1917 and 1948. That conduct led to the Nakba and set in motion decades of colonial dispossession and illegal occupation, culminating in the crime of all crimes: the genocide in Gaza. In the twelve months since, however, Britain’s declared position o
AI summary
A year after a legal petition accused the UK of historical crimes against Palestine, the article analyzes shifts in British policy on the occupation and its unresolved colonial legacy.
A year ago this week, a 400-page legal petition arrived on the desks of the UK Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and the Attorney General, setting out the case that “Britain Owes Palestine” over its unlawful conduct between 1917 and 1948. That conduct led to the Nakba and set in motion decades of colonial dispossession and illegal occupation, culminating in the crime of all crimes: the genocide in Gaza. In the twelve months since, however, Britain’s declared position on the region it once governed has shifted further than at any point in decades: settlement goods are being banned from British shelves, the occupation of the West Bank has been declared unlawful, and ministers now use, in Parliament, […]
Follow the story
About this article
- Length
- 121 words · 1 min read
- Published
- September 10, 2026
- Byline
- Marwa A
- Source
- Middle East Monitor