MPs are already engaged in war of words as they head to Parliament to vote whether or not to officially recognise Palestine as a state.
David Cameron is believed to be abstaining from the vote. Joining him will be George Galloway - one of the most virulent supporters of the Palestinian cause.
The Respect MP has announced he will not take part in the debate on statehood, as a 'yes' vote would also be recognising Israel.
"Israel was a state born in 1948 out of the blood of the Palestinians who were hounded from their land," Galloway said. "I continue to support the only realistic solution, one democratic and secular state, called Israel-Palestine or Palestine-Israel. The proposed two-state solution is to all intents and purposes dead and is only used in order to provide Israel further breathing space to consolidate the illegal settlements and expand its land grab further."
A motion before MPs urges them to support the view that the Government should recognise Palestine as a state, although an amendment suggests this step should be taken once peace negotiations have successfully concluded.
The motion threatens to split the Labour party, with party leader Ed Miliband forced to backtrack on his original plans to demand a three-line whip on his MPs to support the motion. In practice, the Labour leader may discreetly allow a large number of MPs to stay away from the debate.
The move by Miliband to back the motion has put him at odds with some Jewish communal leaders and with some of his own party's groups.
Vivian Wineman, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews said MPs should "abandon gestures which provoke but achieve little and instead encourage increased dialogue between the followers of the Abrahamic faiths and the development of a consensus against antisemitism anti-Muslim sentiment and all other forms of prejudice".
Writing for the Huffington Post, Winemann said that the vote as it stood "risks extending legitimacy to one part of the Palestinian administration - Hamas - which is in control of Gaza and which has just been engaged in a conflict with Israel during which it fired over four thousand rockets indiscriminately at her."
Labour Friends of Israel director, Jenny Gerber, opposed the move from the Labour leader: “A unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state may make negotiations less likely to occur as the Palestinian Authority will have less motivation to enter talks to begin with.”
It follows the collapse of peace talks between Israel and Palestine and a summer conflict in Gaza, which claimed the lives of more than 2,100 Palestinians - mostly civilians - as well as 70 Israelis, just six of them civilians.
Although the vote is symbolic and will not change government policy, it could lead to other countries following suit.
Former international development minister Sir Alan Duncan declared that Britain has an "historic and moral duty" to recognise Palestine, adding shame had been brought on the UK by its decision to stand back from taking a decision.
Story continues after slideshow...
Postcards From Palestine
West Bank Zones(01 of15)
Open Image Modal"What you see behind me," Tamer said, and pointed his hand toward the house-covered hillside, "is an Israeli settlement. Now, today's tour is not about politics or the occupation – although, as a Palestinian, I cannot promise I won't mention these issues from time to time – but you need to understand something, before we begin."The West Bank," he continued, "is divided into three zones: Zone A, Zone B and Zone C. Zone A is completely controlled by the Palestinian Authority; Zone C is completely controlled by the Israelis; and Zone B is under "joint" control, which really means the Israelis control it, which means that Palestinians really only control Zone C. Any questions so far?"
God's Will(02 of15)
Open Image ModalOne of the many Germans in our group raised her hand. "What percentage of the West Bank does Zone C occupy?""Take a guess." He smiled, I presumed ironically.People shouted out random numbers, ranging all the way from near zero to almost 100. I made my guess last, and without any premeditation whatsoever. "Twenty-two?""You're a good guess. But enough about that for now – let's get on the road."
Biblical Landscape(03 of15)
Open Image ModalAs we drove further into the West Bank, I was taken aback by how serene and beautiful the land appeared, in spite of the warning signs and separation walls that seem and widespread as pristine towns and villages strewn over mountain tops, or winding roads that seem like threads of silver strung out over the vastness of the Jordan Valley.
Why Can't We Be Friends?(04 of15)
Open Image ModalAny-State Solution(05 of15)
Open Image ModalPragmatic, too. "The truth is," Tamer said, after another traveler asked him how, if Palestinians control less than a quarter of the already-tiny West Bank, a state of their own could ever come to fruition, "is that one-state, two-state, it doesn't matter. Most people here aren't as concerned about the name of the place they live as they are about living in peace, and without fear."
Sunset in Ramallah(06 of15)
Open Image ModalI would hear Tamer's sentiment echoed by every Palestinian I met that day, during the morning in Bethlehem and the Jordan River, the afternoon at Jericho and Tybeh villages and as the sun set over the bustling city of Ramallah in the evening. This was shocking, given how quick even moderate Israelis are to characterize "most" Palestinians as being murderous Jihad-mongerers.
Manifest Destiny(07 of15)
Open Image ModalThe next day I embarked on the second tour, aptly-named "Dual Narrative," which took me to the city of Hebron, arguably the most volatile and controversial site of Jewish settlements within the West Bank, with a man named Adam, a Jewish settler originally from Arkansas.While Tamer had addressed the conflict immediately and in a way that put all of us at ease ("You have to have a sense of humor to survive here," he'd frequently remind us), Adam's introduction created a tense atmosphere from the get go. "We're traveling in an armored bus," he announced en route to Jerusalem central station. "You never know when danger can arise in a place like this."
Behind the Prison Tower(08 of15)
Open Image ModalWhat struck me the most about Hebron as we arrived around an hour after departing Jerusalem was how fortified it seemed. The old city, which sits at the bottom of a ravine, was surrounded by military watch towers. Security checkpoints, administered by the Israeli military, were set up in several places; Israeli flags were flying everywhere I looked.
Mohammad My Friend(09 of15)
Open Image ModalI was surprised to learn, after Adam handed us off to Mohammad, who gave us the first narrative of our tour in the Palestinian-controlled "H1" sector of the city, how small a minority the Israeli settlers made up."There are only five hundred of them," he said as we looked out over one of the four small settlements they live in, from the roof of a Palestinian house the Israelis had apparently been trying for years to confiscate, "but they have over 2,000 military personnel protecting them. Crazy, right?"Not as crazy as what happened next.
Snake Oil(10 of15)
Open Image ModalWe walked down the dilapidated staircase of the house, whose owners the Israeli government had allegedly offered several million U.S. dollars to leave, but instead of walking out the same way we came in, we went inside a green room, filled with dresses, purses and several pictures of Saddam Hussein.A few minutes later, a heavy-set man walked in and sat down. "My name is Abed," he said unassumingly, "and I would like to tell you my story. First, notice how the back windows of my room are dark – and remember this for later."Abed explained to us how, after Israeli settlers murdered his wife and blinded, using a mix of acid and tear gas, the first of the three children she had born him, they threw a live snake into a small hole he'd left on the back of his house for light – hostility from his neighbors had forced him to permanently shutter his windows – into a room where, incidentally, his 10-month old son was playing."The good news," he chuckled as a happy toddler, who ran into the corner of the room and pulled out a soda bottle that encased a very well-preserved serpent, "is that we got the snake before it got us." The boy sat on his father's lap, and played curiously with the bottle.
Privacy Fence(11 of15)
Open Image ModalLike so many Palestinians I had met and would meet that day, Abed not only seemed in good spirits, relatively to what had happened to him, but explicitly stated his desire to live in peace, regardless of politics or legalities. But as we walked through the souk to meet Adam for the second part of the tour – the Jewish narrative – it seemed unlikely that peace would ever prevail.Everywhere I looked, former thru streets had been sealed off, often in extremely crude ways, using sheet metal, plywood and concrete blocks. The walkway, the de-facto "Main St." of the old city, was covered by barbed wire mesh fencing, which had been littered with trash, stones and various other trinkets. And of course, there were the watchtowers, and the checkpoints.
The Other Side of the Story(12 of15)
Open Image Modal1929 Massacre(13 of15)
Open Image ModalMoral Majority(14 of15)
Open Image ModalThe Third Temple(15 of15)
Open Image ModalIronically, meeting the settler to whom Adam introduced me with the idea that her testimony would sway me was what alienated me most. She was an American woman who moved to Hebron with her husband over a decade ago. "We decided we wanted to give our life a spiritual meaning," she recalled, and recited Torah passages that stake the Jews' claim to Hebron, from memory."If you repeat a lie enough," she responded, when I asked her if she'd ever had a Palestinian friend, and informed her how willing every Palestinian I had ever met was to work toward peace, regardless of the logistics, "you'll eventually believe it. The Palestinians don't want us here. Their religious doctrine encourages them to kill."And although nothing in our holy book, and no leader in our religion, would ever condone such a heinous act, I gotta say," she continued, adopting a decidedly Long Island accent. "I don't really want them here, either. This land is ours – anyone who's read the Bible for a few minutes knows that."
On Sunday over 300 senior Israeli figures including a Nobel Prize winner and former ministers, sent a letter urging the UK Parliament to vote yes.
It read: "We, Israelis who worry and care for the well-being of the state of Israel, believe that the long-term existence and security of Israel depends on the long-term existence and security of a Palestinian state.
"For this reason we, the undersigned, urge members of the UK parliament to vote in favour of the motion to be debated on Monday 13th October 2014 calling on the British Government to recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel."
Presenting his bid to debate the issue in the Commons, Labour's Grahame Morris told the backbench Business Committee last month: "I do think it is important that Parliament has an opportunity to express its will. The last time we actually had a full debate on the issue was back in 2012. This is in relation to the recognition of the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel.
"Can I just point out respectfully to the committee that a lot has happened since we made the original bid?
"The Kerry-led negotiations have collapsed. We know that Gaza has been left devastated by the consequences of the conflict. We have seen the biggest annexation of Palestinian land in the west bank for 30 years.
"There have been enormous protests, not just in London, but all across the UK - demonstrations, large public gatherings, meetings and protests.
"The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says that more than half the correspondence it receives is on this issue. The e-petition that initiated our initial bid has gained more than 111,000 signatures and there are a number of other similar e-petitions on issues specifically related to this that have gained tens of thousands of signatures in a relatively small space of time.
"There is a huge public desire across the UK for MPs to debate the issue and discuss the conflict."
David Cameron's official spokesman confirmed that ministers will abstain in the vote, the result of which will not be binding on the Government.
The spokesman indicated that the Government will not change its position, even if the Commons votes in favour of recognition of Palestinian statehood.
He told a regular Westminster media briefing: "The Government's position is very clear and hasn't changed, so I think that is a very clear indication of the British Government's approach.
"The Government's approach is a long-standing one and is in support of a two-state solution and we will continue to work with a range of international partners - Israel, the Palestinian Authority - in support of that.
"We think that what you should do is you should do everything you can that is supportive of a successful and sustainable outcome based on a two-state solution."
Asked whether the Government's policy could change in response to the vote, the spokesman said: "I've been pretty clear about the Government's position and it won't be changing."