British Ambassador Simon Walters defended Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s conditions for recognizing a Palestinian state, which were announced to Israeli journalists during a briefing on Thursday, explaining why Britain did not include the release of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in its terms.
He made clear to reporters that Britain’s stance is not intended to reward for Hamas, but rather to contribue to a larger international effort to dissasemble Hamas, promote peace in the region, and support a two-state solution to end the conflict.
“We did not not make the release of the hostages a condition becase we don’t want to reward Hamas, we don’t want to give Hamas a prize for the hostages,” he told reporters.
Walters expressed that the United Kingdom’s (UK) stance came with the belief that military action will not suffice in bringing an end to the fighitng.
“The IDF has already achieved all that it could achive in Gaza. Expanding the war would only lead to more Israeli and Palestinian casualties and would likely lead to death of hostages,” he said, adding that “If you want to defeat Hamas you cannot achieve it through military action, you have to present an alternative to Hamas.”
The UK announcment, Walter told reporters, is part of a larger plan intended to isolate Hamas and lead the way towards a vision for peace in the Middle East.
He pointed out that an important component to this vision was the statement that came at the end of the meeting in New York, refering to a statement signed by major Arab states calling for a two-state solution, calling for the desire for peaceful relations with Israel, condeming Hamas’s actions on October 7, and calling for release of the hostages and for Hamas to hand its weapons and leave Gaza.
The ambassador continued to describe the UK’s vision to which he attributed the recognition plan — including an end to the war, release of the hostages, and two states co-existing peacefully.
In order to do this, the vision involves a changing of governence in Gaza, which would have to be governed by Palestinians who are not part of Hamas, as well as proper security arrangments and a solution to Hamas and an answer to who will pay for reconstruction of the Strip.
Walter concluded his statement reenforcing the UK’s commitment to Israel’s security and to a two-state solution, and clarifying that Britain has condemmed and listed Hamas as a terrorist group for years.
He claimed that this proposal was not a reward for Hamas, labeling its perception as such as Hamas propoganda efforts, and explained that the reason the release of the hostages was not included in the conditions was because they did not want to be “giving Hamas a prize for the hostages.”
He also noted the humanitarian situation in Gaza, describing it as horrific, and called on Israel to increase aid delivery to the Strip, additionally touching briefly on the strong Israel-UK trade relationship.