Edelstein to Address British MPs Despite Palestinian Protests

YERUSHALAYIM

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein says he will not be cowed by pro-Palestinians protesting his scheduled address at the House of Commons next week, The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday.

Edelstein, whose residence in Yehudah and Shomron has become a point of contention, said that “I am proud to represent the Knesset and the state of Israel, also as a resident of Yehuda and Shomron.”

He dismissed the protests as “cheap populism” and headline-seeking.

The Knesset Speaker moved late last year to Herzliya, but maintains his previous home in Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion, where he spends some weekends.
Palestinian envoy to the UK Manuel Hassassian wrote in The Independent that Edelstein’s appearance would legitimize the “occupation.”
“Mr. Edelstein lives on an illegal Israeli settlement built on Palestinian land and he publicly opposed Palestinian statehood,” Hassassian wrote. “I am quite incredulous that Mr. Edelstein is being given a platform in Parliament itself… the self-same Parliament that only a short time ago voted to recognize the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and a state of their own.”

Edelstein thanked Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow for his invitation to speak before MPs and peers on Tuesday, at a British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU) event.

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