Beth Watson

Going on tour!

We're making this happen on an absolute shoestring, doing all my own marketing, with no PR etc, so if u have links to any of these areas, pls help me spread the word 🙏🏻

Opinion: Recognition of a Palestinian state should not be a pawn in a diplomatic game <article data-history-node-id="426570" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-recognition-palestinian-state-should-not-be-pawn-diplomatic-game" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-recognition-palestinian-state-should-not-be-pawn-diplomatic-game" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Opinion: Recognition of a Palestinian state should not be a pawn in a diplomatic game</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>On 29 July,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/uk" target="_blank">UK</a>&nbsp;Prime Minister Keir Starmer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-words-on-gaza-29-july-2025" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;Britain&nbsp;would recognise a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/palestine-state" target="_blank">Palestinian state</a>&nbsp;at the UN General Assembly in September, "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza and commits to a long-term sustainable peace".</p> <p>Of course, any British recognition of the state of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" target="_blank">Palestine</a>, if and when it happens, would mark a historic moment. Britain bears a unique responsibility as the author of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/balfour-declaration-study-british-duplicity" target="_blank">Balfour Declaration</a>&nbsp;and the mandatory power in Palestine.</p> <p>If&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/why-is-britain-recognising-palestinian-state-what-does-it-mean-2025-07-29" target="_blank">recognition</a>&nbsp;does take place, it would reinforce the British government's stated support for a two-state solution, after decades of recognising only one state,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israel</a>, while denying the other.</p> <p>It would chart a trajectory that rejects Israel's attempt to impose a one-state apartheid reality across the whole of historic Palestine.</p> <p>It would set the terms for any future peace process, in which&nbsp;the end goal must include a Palestinian state, reaffirming the British government's stated commitment to a two-state solution, as outlined in its announcement.</p> <p>So why were Palestinians and others not out on the streets celebrating the British government's&nbsp;announcement that emerged from an emergency recall of the cabinet?</p> <h3>Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-starmer-should-have-imposed-sanctions-israel">Recognition of a Palestinian state should not be a pawn in a diplomatic game</a>&nbsp;Opinion by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/chris-doyle">Chris Doyle&nbsp;</a></h3> <figure role="group" class="media-block"> <div class="group-inner"> <div alt="A protester displays a satirical sign targeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a demonstration in support of Gaza in London, 4 June 2025 (Adrian Dennis/AFP)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6eb86022-ecf5-47d0-9892-684bb5cbebcb" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/protester-starmer-sign-london-4-june-2025-afp.jpg" width="1400" height="788" alt="A protester displays a satirical sign targeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a demonstration in support of Gaza in London, 4 June 2025 (Adrian Dennis/AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>A protester displays a satirical sign targeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a demonstration in support of Gaza in London, 4 June 2025 (Adrian Dennis/AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span style="background: url(&quot;https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png&quot;) rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

Opinion: Recognition of a Palestinian state should not be a pawn in a diplomatic game - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-recognition-palestinian-state-should-not-be-pawn-diplomatic-game

Do you see what is happening here? This isn't news. They are laying the foundations.

First year in a while that neither of my companies are running any events at EdFringe (for reasons too long to go into). As a result, I find myself with a huge gap in my calendar for 3 weeks in August.

See u TONIGHT Basingstoke!

Queer Diary The night where LGBTQIA+ folks read REAL teenage diaries. Expect angsty poetry, thirsty fanfic, old tumblr posts + a throwback playlist

This Friday at Proteus Creation Space in Basingstoke: LGBTQIA+ folks read REAL teenage diaries, angsty poetry & thirsty fanfic live on stage 🌈📖

Tix are PWYC or FREE if you sign up in advance as a reader 👀

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/queer-diar...

SO if you have either any fun/creative work going in Ldn OR a spare room/work in Ed, it'd be great to not spend my month withering from underestimulation & FOMO! TIA xx

First year in a while that neither of my companies are running any events at EdFringe (for reasons too long to go into). As a result, I find myself with a huge gap in my calendar for 3 weeks in August.

Logo of the Department of Education. Title: Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. Subtitle: Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, and teachers. Dated July 2025

🆕🚨 New statutory Relationships and Sex Education guidance published today will:

- Restrict schools from using materials that "encourage pupils to question their gender"
- Teaches children the laws about "biological sex"
- Removes all references to the word transgender

What we know so far 🧵

Britain’s Far Right is going mainstream Harry Shukman went undercover inside Britain’s far right. What he found is terrifying—and increasingly part of our politics

Something dark is happening on the British right

I spoke with Harry Shukman, who spent a year undercover with the far-right, for the latest Democracy for Sale live discussion

Story and interview here:

open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

Queer Diary - Take Part Take Part

Brighton! Queer Diary is back tomorrowwwww

Still time for last min sign-ups to share something from yr coming-of-age era on out mic 👀

www.queerdiary.org.uk/take-part

wes streeting wants to power the nhs with this.

a ½ gallon of neutral milk

They finally made the milk from that hotel

insane how Israel public messaging has flipped the narrative on this: any bit of food aid that gets through is billed as a special gift that proves how moral the IDF is

Play this video in every legislative chamber in every country still providing material support to these war criminals

Text says: What if someone tells me to leave the toilets? There’s a lot of confusion about our rights at the moment. Read our Know Your Rights resource for accurate, up to date info. transactual.org.uk/know-your-rights. Illustration of a person with short hair.

The Supreme Court ruling and the draft EHRC Statutory Code has left trans people in the UK feeling scared and confused.

To help you navigate this nightmare, we've created a Know Your Rights resource. Find it at transactual.org.uk/know-your-rights

#Trans #Transgender #Nonbinary #Queer #TransAlly

A collage of 10 people laughing, cringing & reading into microphones from notebooks, paper, phones. 1 person is showing off a sketchbook drawing of the necklace from the titanic, another is wrapped in a string of various pride flags. In the middle is our logo: a rainbow bursting from an open book, surrounded by doodled yellow stars.

MANCHESTER! Get in touch ASAP to secure a spot on our mic 🌈📖

We're seeking a couple more readers to read something REAL from your teens, childhood, or coming-of-age era on Friday 👀

No performing experience necessary: just tell us what u got & we'll be in touch to confirm ur spot

Never listened to fletcher b4 but now I'm puttin Boy on all my pride playlists to anger the biphobes 😊

Where to find me this month 🤩

Yesterday’s announcements have ignored the institutional failures in the #ChildQ case, and so dramatically fail to deliver the justice that is so urgently needed www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Read our full response below 👇

I don’t understand Yvette Cooper’s moral universe where we are supposed to feel more threatened by protesters spray painting war planes than our own government’s steadfast support of a regime who everyday find more horrendous ways to murder people .

Come cut n paste with me this week 👇

This week we have TWO zine-making sessions in SE LDN 🌈📖✂️

📍 Tue 24 @ Kingswood Arts (SE21)
📍 Thu 26 @ artfix (SE10)

Cut up a stack of old teen mags & reclaim them to make a zine for your younger-self ❤️‍🔥

www.outsavvy.com/organiser/qu...

Help Sustain the Institute for Palestine Studies—A Vital Pillar of Palestinian Knowledge Production An Urgent Appeal from Rashid Khalidi Dear friends, Since October 2023, the dozens of scholars, editors, and researchers of the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) in Beirut , Ramallah , and Was...

This an urgent appeal.

Donate to support the Institute for Palestine Studies and help maintain Palestinian knowledge production

palestine-studies.networkforgood.com/projects/254...

From the US to the UK, our protest rights are under attack.

MPs are debating the anti-protest Crime and Policing Bill RIGHT NOW.

We can’t let them forget: no protest, no progress.

Many were hated for protesting. But they changed history.

Share if you agree ✊🏽

#OtD 16 Jun 1836 Black trans US sex worker and army veteran Mary Jones was put on trial for pickpocketing a client who solicited her for sex. Found guilty, she was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Learn more in our new book, Be Gay Do Crime: www.kickstarter.com/projects/wrk...

A wall full of posters including a queer diary poster alongside local classes, markets, etc, with the word "community" painted above it.

SOUTH EAST LDN 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Fancy coming to a night of social collaging with local queer folks? Cut up our stack of old teen magazines & reclaim them to make a zine for yr younger self ✂️

Starting Tuesday eve 6-8

📍 Kingswood Arts, SE21

A lamppost with a transphobic sticker on it, which has been covered with a BWithTheT sticker

#LGBWithTheT and #BWithTheT free stickers, so you can cover GC messages when you're out and about.

thisisbiscuit.org.uk/bwiththetsti...

Planning a show for #EdFringe 2025?

Join Theatre Green Book for a free 1-hour webinar on how to make your production more sustainable. Tools, tips, inspiration, and space for questions.

Thurs 19 June, 10–11am

👉 theatregreenbook.com/events1/edin...

#GreenBook

Have you even really experienced London transport, if you've never heard a Canadian pronounce Wapping like it rhymes with napping?