{"id":103376,"date":"2025-07-30T00:02:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T00:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/103376\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T00:02:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T00:02:15","slug":"uk-to-recognize-palestinian-state-in-sept-unless-israel-ends-gaza-war-commits-to-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/103376\/","title":{"rendered":"UK to recognize Palestinian state in Sept. unless Israel ends Gaza war, commits to peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that the UK would recognize a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and meets several other conditions, including recommitting to a viable peace process.<\/p>\n

The decision, which was relayed by Starmer to his cabinet and then to the public by way of a statement at 10 Downing Street, was swiftly condemned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who declared the move \u201crewards Hamas\u2019s monstrous terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The announcement marked a major diplomatic challenge for Israel, coming days after France said it would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.<\/p>\n

Starmer said that Israel could forestall the measure by reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and ending the \u201cappalling situation\u201d there, making clear that it will not annex the West Bank, and committing to a peace process that results in a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering,\u201d Starmer told reporters. \u201cNow, in Gaza, because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime. The suffering must end.\u201d<\/p>\n

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An unnamed source told Reuters that Starmer spoke with Netanyahu before the announcement. Starmer also spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas before going public, the PA\u2019s official Wafa news agency reported.<\/p>\n

Abbas praised Starmer and called on the UK to \u201cofficially recognize the State of Palestine immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron, who did not offer Israel a way to avoid the unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, had been pushing Starmer to follow his lead, as were a growing number of lawmakers in Britain\u2019s ruling Labour Party, seeing it as a way to pressure Israel amid growing concern of starvation in Gaza.<\/p>\n

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Tuesday evening hailed the British announcement, writing on social media: \u201cTogether, through this momentous decision and our joint efforts, we are ending the infinite cycle of violence and re-opening the prospect of peace in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a joint press conference in London, July 10, 2025. (Leon Neal\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n

Britain, if it acts, would be the second Western power on the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state after France, and would be the closest of Israel\u2019s allies to do so. The decision may lead more Western countries to make the move as well, with Malta declaring later Tuesday that it too will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur position reflects our commitment to efforts for a lasting peace in the Middle East,\u201d Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela said in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s decision marked a striking reversal in policy after he disappointed many last week by rejecting calls to recognize a Palestinian state and saying that the timing must be right as part of a wider peace process.<\/p>\n

But he has been increasingly vocal about the crisis in Gaza, saying that the people there faced an \u201cabsolute catastrophe\u201d and that the British public were \u201crevolted\u201d by scenes of hunger and desperation.<\/p>\n

He said that before taking a final decision, his government would assess in September on \u201chow far the parties have met these steps,\u201d but that no one would have a veto over the decision.<\/p>\n

In his announcement, the British leader stressed that the recognition of a Palestinian state did not amount to recognizing the Hamas terror group as a legitimate state actor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHamas are a terrorist organization responsible for the October 7th atrocities. They must never be rewarded. We have been unequivocal in our condemnation of those evil attacks, and our support for the right of the State of Israel to self-defense,\u201d the government statement read.<\/p>\n

\u201cHamas must immediately release all the hostages, sign up to an immediate ceasefire, accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza, and commit to disarmament,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

The UK government statement<\/a> also acknowledged that \u201crecognition by itself will not change the situation on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over the central Gaza Strip, as seen from Khan Younis on July 28, 2025. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana)<\/p>\n

As such, it said that the move would come alongside \u201cadditional immediate steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation,\u201d including airdropping supplies into Gaza in coordination with Jordan, as well as evacuating injured children from the Strip to receive medical treatment in the UK.<\/p>\n

\u2018A reward for Hamas\u2019<\/p>\n

The announcement came a day after Starmer met with US President Donald Trump, who told him that he did \u201cnot mind\u201d if Britain recognized a Palestinian state, though Washington has long declined to do so. \u201cI don\u2019t mind him taking a position,\u201d Trump said regarding Starmer\u2019s potential recognition of Palestine when he hosted the prime minister in Scotland on Monday. \u201cI\u2019m looking to get people fed right now.<\/p>\n

Trump appeared to distance himself from those remarks after Starmer\u2019s announcement, however, insisting they did not discuss the issue during his four-day visit to Scotland. \u201cWe never did discuss it,\u201d the president told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling back to the US on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

While declining to speak out against Starmer, he criticized those who have called to pressure Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do that, you really are rewarding Hamas, and I don\u2019t think they should be rewarded,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not about to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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US President Donald Trump (R) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) talk as they arrive at Trump\u2019s estate in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, north east Scotland, on July 28, 2025. (Jane Barlow\/Pool\/AFP)<\/p>\n

Still, Trump suggested that he was okay with the leaders of France and the UK having a different opinion than the US regarding unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s [Macron\u2019s] opinion. He can have an opinion,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI guess Starmer is doing the same thing as Macron, and that\u2019s okay. It doesn\u2019t mean I have to agree.\u201d<\/p>\n

For its part, Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry issued a statement that more definitively rejected the UK decision.<\/p>\n

The recognition of a Palestinian state \u201cconstitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

In an English-language post on the official Prime Minister of Israel account on X, Netanyahu railed at his British counterpart, saying, \u201cStarmer rewards Hamas\u2019s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:<\/p>\n

“Starmer rewards Hamas\u2019s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.<\/p>\n

A jihadist state on Israel\u2019s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.<\/p>\n

Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cA jihadist state on Israel\u2019s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW,\u201d he added. \u201cAppeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Criticism also poured in from the Israeli opposition, although this was directed at the coalition, which it blamed for allowing the UK to reach this decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis government led us from the most justified war in the world to a diplomatic disaster,\u201d\u00a0 Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wrote in a Hebrew-language post on X. \u201cOne failure after another. A prime minister who has vanished from the diplomatic arena, a useless foreign minister, and ministers who endanger IDF soldiers every time they open their mouths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yisrael Betyenu chairman Avigdor Liberman similarly declared that \u201cthe person responsible for the October 7 disaster is also responsible for the diplomatic collapse that keeps growing,\u201d apparently referencing Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more countries are considering recognizing the catastrophe known as a Palestinian state \u2014 including the UK, one of the key members of the United Nations Security Council,\u201d Liberman added.<\/p>\n

The decision was more warmly welcomed elsewhere, including at a United Nations conference on the two-state solution, where British Foreign Secretary David Lammy expounded on the move.<\/p>\n

Addressing the conference, Lammy said potential UK recognition of Palestinian statehood was intended to put pressure on Jerusalem to end fighting in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we have attempted to do is affect the situation on the ground, and I sincerely hope that we see a dramatic improvement to the suffering that we see and a commitment to a ceasefire,\u201d he told reporters at the United Nations.<\/p>\n

Asked if Trump was given a heads-up, Lammy avoided giving a direct answer, saying instead that while the US and UK have the \u201cmost special\u201d relationship, \u201cwe have always been clear that no country has veto on solemn decisions that we make in the United Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lammy won loud and sustained applause at the ministerial meeting for the UK\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n

He also told the meeting that the rejection of a two-state solution by Netanyahu\u2019s government \u201cis wrong morally and it\u2019s wrong strategically,\u201d and stressed that it harmed the Israeli people by closing off what he said was the only path to peace.<\/p>\n

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