British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet that the United Kingdom would recognize the state of Palestine by September, unless Israel takes “substantial measures” to end his war against Gaza and committed to a lasting peace process.
According to a government statement published after an emergency meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said that this decision could appear before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, unless Israel accepts a cease-fire, interrupts plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and supports a political path to a solution to two states.
“(Starmer) reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our Hamas requests remain, that they must release all hostages, register for a cease-fire, accepting that they will not play any role in the Gaza government and disarm,” added the statement.
Starmer has interrupted ministers’ summer vacation to discuss a project of peace initiative led by Europe and plans to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza, where the UN warned against imminent famine.
Although the former British governments supported the Palestinian state “when the time has come”, none has publicly linked it to a specific deadline or to prerequisites for such explicit conditions.
Israel criticized the United Kingdom after the announcement, calling it a “reward for Hamas” which would only undermine diplomatic efforts to end the war against Gaza.
In a press release published on X, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel said that the United Kingdom’s decision to harm all the chance of supposedly. Israel broke the last cease-fire negotiated in March.
Starmer informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the plan during a telephone call before making him public, Reuters reported. The details of the conversation have not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, American president Donald Trump denied having had interviews with Starmer Recognition plans for Great Britain.
“We never discussed it,” Trump told journalists on the Air Force One on Tuesday.
Husam Zomlot, Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, said that the official recognition of the Pays de La Palestine would hold “a particular historical and moral weight”.
“This represents a significant step in the fight against deep injustice rooted in the Balfur declaration of the colonial era and the decades of systematic denial of the Palestinian rights which followed,” he wrote on X, referring to the British declaration in 1917 approving the creation of a Jewish homeland which helped open the way to the state of Israel.
Zomlot wrote that the recognition of Palestine must be part of a broader process in justice and international law.
“It is not an autonomous solution and must be accompanied by the complete and equal application of international law, starting with an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza, followed by reconstruction and full responsibility for war crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” he added.
‘The right time’
The proposal, supported by an increasing number of deputies within the starmer’s own Labor Party, would mark a major change in the position of the United Kingdom, because successive governments have long delayed recognition, citing the need for “good time”.
With the assembly of the pressure inside the starmer’s own party, its position seems to have changed. More than half of the deputies of the back-ban of work signed a letter urging the government to officially recognize a Palestinian state as a lever to push Israel to peace.
Addressing journalists, Starmer defended the calendar and the conditions of the announcement, claiming that the decision was motivated by the “intolerable situation” to Gaza and the fear that the two -state solution will slip out of reach.
“This is intended to deepen this cause,” he said. “It is now done because I am particularly worried that the idea of a reduced two -state solution and feels further today that it has done it for many years.”
He added that the recognition of Palestine would be part of a peace plan in eight points that the United Kingdom has developed with European partners. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France would officially recognize Palestine as a state, becoming the most important and influential European nation to do so. The members of the European Union Norway, Spain and the Republic of Ireland previously declared to recognize the state of Palestine.
Labor MP Sarah Champion, who organized the letter to Starmer, said that there will never be a perfect time to recognize the Palestinian state, but warned that this could be the last chance.
“What we have, however, is the perfect storm to prevent a solution to two states that occurs,” she said. “It is now or never if we believe in the right of Palestinians in recognition.”
Marwan Bishara, Tel Aviv Tribune’s superior political analyst, said that leaders, including Starmer and Macron, continue to support Israel in his war against Gaza.
“We must see certain measures taken apart from a simple high rhetoric, because they are unable to speak of peace and justice when they are accomplices in genocide,” he said.
Bishara also criticized the lack of details of the two leaders when they announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state.
“Is it a state in 10% of the West Bank?” Or is it a state in all the territories occupied in 1967 – including East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza – as contiguous sovereign territories? ” He asked.
