I've long campaigned for Palestinians rights and what the Greens are doing is dangerous – Alistair Carmichael

The Scottish Greens’ co-leader marched into an already roiling dispute this week after his sister party in England and Wales decided to declare their support for the destruction of Israel. Rather than distancing himself from his widely condemned colleagues, Mr Greer chose to pour petrol on the fire.

I have campaigned for years in support of Palestinian rights and for a just peace between Israel and Palestine. The Green party’s new ‘one-state solution’, however, is dangerous for our politics in Scotland and the UK – and for the Palestinian people themselves.

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Two-state solution

Most people who seek peace in Israel and Palestine talk about a two-state solution – two democratic states with equal legitimacy and respect. That is the consensus position, held by the United Nations and the vast majority of countries around the world.

There can also be a reasonable (albeit somewhat optimistic) case made for a one-state solution, in which Israelis and Palestinians share a single country in some way or another – a federated state, perhaps – again with equal legitimacy, rights and respect.

What does not exist is a reasonable case for “a single, democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”, as is now advocated by the Green Party of England and Wales, because that is – in its own words – a position with no space for the Israeli people.

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Genocide and ethnic cleansing

Whether or not you believe that there is an ongoing genocide or ethnic cleansing being committed by the Israeli government in some or all of Palestine – and for the avoidance of doubt, I am with those who believe that a genocide is ongoing and must be robustly challenged – you do not ‘fix’ ethnic cleansing with a genocide of your own. That, however, is what the Green party’s position now effectively endorses.

Aside from the principle of the matter, a scenario in which hardline Israeli leaders can plausibly tell their supporters that the rest of the world would happily see them not just challenged, but removed from the map entirely is not likely to be a happy one for the Palestinian people.

This is already an entirely asymmetric conflict on a military level, as the last few years have amply reinforced. The strongest defence that the Palestinian people have is their rights under international law and the work of countries around the world to defend those norms of conduct. When we chip away at international law, we risk destroying Palestine’s last and best protection.

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Whatever our criticisms of the Israeli leadership and its actions, it is no moral solution to replace one form of illiberal, nationalistic, belligerent political movement with another. If we are to challenge Israeli actions, end the occupation of Palestine and deliver a just and lasting peace, politics by slogan is the last thing we need.

The blunt-force policymaking of Mr Greer and his colleagues amongst the Green Party of England and Wales may be easy and satisfying for those who like to claim the moral high ground – but it does not help anyone else.

Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland