The Green Party is facing an internal battle over its stance on Israel after grassroots activists tabled a motion calling for the party to formally reject Israel’s right to exist as a state and recognise Palestinian “armed” resistance.
Members will be given the opportunity to vote on the motion at the party’s conference in Brighton next month, putting pressure on leader Zack Polanski to adopt a formal position that Zionism constitutes racism.
The motion, tabled by Greens for Palestine, an internal pressure group, also calls for Palestine Action to be removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations.
The move comes at a politically sensitive moment for Mr Polanski, who is Jewish and has previously supported Israel’s right to exist but recently said he had changed his position on Zionism.
The pressure is also building ahead of his campaign for the Holborn & St Pancras by-election on October 8, where the Greens are seeking to challenge Labour.
Lubna Speitan, who authored the motion, wrote: “We must bring an end to this racism and the monstrous state that has been built upon it.
“Beyond Palestine and our region, this is a threat to peace and freedom everywhere.
“We are heartened to report that our motion has been received with overwhelming support.”
The motion also argues that Palestinians have a legal right to use force in pursuit of self-determination.
“In pursuit of the right to self-determination, the Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and to complete the establishment of an independent State is an inalienable right well founded in international law.
“The Palestinian people have for decades been subject to relentless Israeli coercive actions seeking to prevent them from exercising their right to self-determination.
“In turn, their resort to the use of force — in accordance with the norms set by international humanitarian law — is lawful, and the motion simply recognises that fact.”
The Green Party has faced allegations of antisemitism since Mr Polanski replaced Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay as leader in September 2025.
Mr Polanski has not publicly commented on the latest motion but said earlier this year: “Antisemitism is completely unwelcome in the Green Party, as it is in society.”
Several Green candidates were accused of making antisemitic statements during the 2026 local elections. One allegedly called for “every single Zionist” to be killed, while another described Hamas’s October 7 attack as Palestinians attempting to “defend themselves”.
Hamas’s 2023 attack killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken.
Greens for Palestine does not mention Hamas or October 7 in its seven-page motion or 46-page information booklet. The documents refer to “Israel” 77 times and “Jews” or “Jewish” 86 times.
The dispute comes as Mr Polanski prepares for the October 8 contest in Sir Keir Starmer’s former constituency. The Green leader reportedly sought to delay the party conference while campaigning, but his request was rejected by the executive committee.
A Green Party spokesman said: “Unlike other political parties, our members can bring and set policy.
“This is one motion alongside dozens of others that will be discussed at what will be our biggest ever party conference.
“Greens do already, however, recognise the Palestinians’ right to resist the ongoing occupation by means compatible with international humanitarian law (IHL).
“It’s important to note that some actions taken in the name of resistance, including indiscriminate rocket attacks, do not comply with IHL and Greens condemn such actions unequivocally.”
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