Labour manifesto promises to recognise Palestine... people are overjoyed

Eyes carefully scrutinised the UK Labour Party's manifesto, which was unveiled on Tuesday. Analysts blew the internet with their views on what implications the manifesto could hold for Labour, the UK, and the world.

However, there was one small statement on page 118 that drove everyone wild:

"A Labour government will immediately recognise the state of Palestine."

Realistically, the implications for Palestinians inside occupieed territories and Israel might be minimal (as recognising Palestine would not halt Israel's illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank, or break the siege on Gaza, or pressure Israel into treating its Palestinian citizens more fairly) but the line was still hailed as something of a moral victory for Palestinians.

Questions arose about whether such an outcome could force Palestinian institutions to cut down on corruption and in-fighting, which again, is unlikely.

Despite this, it reflects a positive change in British foreign policy and is a step toward in actualising the UK standpoint towards a two-state solution.

However, opponents of this proposition have hit back at the Labour Party, accusing them of siding with "terrorists" and "jihadis".

Other hard-line Israel apologists had accused the Labour Party of continuing to perpetuate anti-Semitic rhetoric, something that Jeremy Corbyn has been repeatedly accused of by critics.

Corbyn has hit back at such accusations throughout his career.

"Labour is an anti-racist party to its core and has a long and proud history of standing against racism, including anti-semitism. I have campaigned against racism all my life and the Jewish community has been at the heart of the Labour party and progressive politics in Britain for more than a hundred years," Corbyn said in April.