In a joint statement issued today, the faith leaders criticised UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for allegedly using the question of Palestinian statehood as a “bargaining tool” during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The scholars further voiced concern over reported plans to impose the Palestinian Authority control over Gaza as part of wider regional normalisation deals, insisting that “any future governance structure in Palestine must be determined by the Palestinian people themselves, free from external pressure or coercion”.
The imams reaffirmed the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and to choose their own leadership without foreign interference. They also underscored that, under international law, Palestinians have “the right to resist Zionist military occupation using legitimate means of defence”.
The statement called on Muslims to support Palestinians through humanitarian aid, lawful boycotts of companies complicit in Israeli occupation, and by exposing attempts to “legitimise Zionist injustice under religious or political cover”.
The imams also condemned what they described as a “double standard” in the UK’s treatment of pro-Palestine activists compared to those who join the Israeli army.
