Jul 31, 2025 07:12 IST

First published on: Jul 31, 2025 at 06:04 IST

Over a century ago, the UK helped lay the foundation of the Israel-Palestine dispute with the 1917 Balfour Declaration, pledging support for a “national home for the Jewish people”, while promising to safeguard the “civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”. The creation of an independent State of Israel in May 1948, and its success in fending off five Arab states, meant that the Declaration’s contradictory promises catalysed a conflict that continues to bring devastation to the West Asian region. Nearly 108 years later, the UK has said that it will recognise Palestinian statehood in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, a two-state solution, and halts its de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. PM Keir Starmer has also set conditions for Hamas: A ceasefire, the release of hostages, withdrawal from governance, and disarmament. The UK’s move follows France’s announcement that it will recognise Palestinian statehood in September, as it joined Saudi Arabia in co-chairing a high-level UN conference in New York to push for the much-debated two-state solution.

The London and Paris announcements, which could make them the only two G7 nations to recognise the State of Palestine in less than two months, signal growing European frustration with Israel’s war in Gaza, where civilians are facing a humanitarian catastrophe under sustained bombardment and a blockade on aid — now easing under mounting international pressure. Yet, Starmer’s plan has contradictions of its own. If Israel meets all the conditions, would the UK then refuse to recognise Palestinian statehood, after all? Statehood should be framed not as a concession but an inalienable right of the Palestinian people. Britain’s stance appears to be a pressure tactic aimed at curbing the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. But if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to stand down, Starmer may be compelled to follow through on his pledge come September.

Today, 147 of 193 UN member states have formally recognised the State of Palestine — a list that includes India. Speaking at the New York conference, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, noting that India was among the first to recognise Palestine in 1988, emphasised that global efforts must now focus on a two-state solution. France and the UK moving the needle marks the first significant step within the West towards a durable resolution of the dispute. Much, however, will depend on the US — both in the long term and when it comes to immediate pressure on Israel for humanitarian relief and a ceasefire.