{"id":111473,"date":"2025-08-01T23:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T23:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/111473\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T23:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T23:12:13","slug":"from-silence-to-statehood-how-trumps-indifference-moved-the-uk-on-palestine-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/111473\/","title":{"rendered":"From silence to statehood: how Trump\u2019s indifference moved the UK on Palestine | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was, in the end, an off-the-cuff remark from Donald Trump<\/a> that moved the dial.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to take a position,\u201d the US president said when asked in Scotland about pressure on Keir Starmer<\/a> to recognise a Palestinian state. \u201cI don\u2019t mind him taking a position. I\u2019m looking for getting people [in Gaza] fed right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within 36 hours, after an emergency meeting of his cabinet, the prime minister had set out a plan<\/a> to revive fading hopes of a two-state solution \u2013 and recognise Palestine by the end of September.<\/p>\n

It is a historic shift in the position of the UK government and its efforts to bring peace to a region it ruled through an international mandate<\/a> from 1922 to 1948. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, told a UN conference on Monday that \u201cBritain bears a special burden of responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n

Under the new policy \u2013 which the Guardian understands was largely drafted by Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser<\/a> \u2013 the UK will recognise Palestine unless Israel meets certain conditions including agreeing a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

In private, senior government figures agree that this commitment can lead only to recognition. \u201cThe reality is unless the Netanyahu government falls in the next six to eight weeks or makes an 180 degree U-turn, the only outcome of this is the UK recognising the state of Palestine,\u201d one government source said. If Israel does meet the conditions, it will have embarked on a path towards Palestinian statehood itself.<\/p>\n

Ministers stress that recognition was a Labour manifesto promise<\/a> and therefore always something they were committed to doing before the next election. But over the past fortnight, Starmer came under heavy pressure on the domestic and international stage to move faster amid a global outcry over the horrific scenes of starvation in Gaza caused by Israel\u2019s blockade on aid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A protester holds a placard with a message for Keir Starmer. Photograph: Rhianna Chadwick\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, had for months been lobbying the UK and other countries to join a push for Palestinian recognition at a high-level UN conference in New York<\/a>, which had been due to take place in June but was postponed by the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran.<\/p>\n

Three weeks ago, the UN conference was rescheduled for 28 and 29 July as its joint hosts, France and Saudi Arabia, sought to keep momentum building. Four days before foreign ministers were due to gather in New York, Macron announced that France intended to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in the UK, ministers\u2019 horror at the deteriorating situation in Gaza was mounting. There was a growing realisation inside government that the prospect of a two-state solution was fast diminishing<\/a> and at risk of being buried for good by Netanyahu. In an unusual intervention on 22 July, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, told the Commons that he supported recognising \u201cthe state of Palestine while there is a state of Palestine left to recognise\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Guardian revealed the extent of cabinet pressure that week \u2013 Streeting, Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, and Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, had all pushed for Palestinian statehood<\/a> during cabinet meetings. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, believed the UK should act alongside France<\/a>. An open letter on 25 July backing recognition was signed by more than 200 MPs, including more than a third of Labour ones.<\/p>\n

That Friday evening, Starmer, who had just concluded a call with Macron and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, bid for time. Downing Street was preparing for a high-stakes summit with Trump, who was en route to Scotland on Air Force One for a private visit to his golf resorts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a concern within No 10 that we needed to make sure that any decision with regards to recognition would not have a negative impact on that US relationship,\u201d a government source said. At about the same time, it was decided that Lammy would attend the French-Saudi UN summit, rather than send a more junior representative.<\/p>\n

With Lammy en route to New York, Starmer and his wife, Victoria, arrived in Turnberry on Monday morning and were greeted by Trump on the steps of his resort. In an impromptu back and forth with reporters outside, Trump reacted to the suggestion that the UK could recognise Palestine with a rhetorical shrug. \u201cThat was a green light,\u201d the same source said.<\/p>\n

Trump and Starmer in Scotland. At the meeting, Trump for the first time acknowledged that there was \u2018real starvation\u2019 in Gaza. Photograph: WPA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Trump also, for the first time, acknowledged that there was \u201creal starvation\u201d in Gaza<\/a> and dismissed denials from Netanyahu, urging him to let \u201cevery ounce of food\u201d in. After the meeting, No 10 sources emphasised the significance of the president\u2019s language.<\/p>\n

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Having returned to London from Scotland, Starmer spoke to Netanyahu before the cabinet meeting on Tuesday to inform him of his intention to recognise Palestine unless Israel met his conditions. Then Starmer and Lammy \u2013 dialling in from New York \u2013 presented ministers with the policy over the course of a 90-minute cabinet meeting before announcing it publicly.<\/p>\n

The decision to make statehood conditional on Israel\u2019s actions quickly came under fire from all sides. The Green party and Jeremy Corbyn attacked ministers for turning Palestinians\u2019 right to recognition into a \u201cbargaining chip\u201d. Emily Damari, a British citizen who was held hostage by Hamas for more than 15 months, accused Starmer of \u201cmoral failure\u201d<\/a> and \u201crewarding terror\u201d. A group of 40 peers warned that ministers risked breaking international law<\/a> because Palestine has no defined borders or single functioning government.<\/p>\n

Even government figures concede that the policy \u2013 which ministers have struggled to communicate on the airwaves \u2013 is convoluted, but they argue that the semantics won\u2019t matter once the UK recognises a Palestinian state alongside several of its allies next month.<\/p>\n

Crucially, Trump\u2019s indifferent stance appears to be holding. Asked by reporters on his way home from Scotland about Starmer\u2019s move, the president was more critical<\/a>: \u201cWe never did discuss it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don\u2019t think they should be rewarded\u201d. He left his criticism there.<\/p>\n

Trump reserved harsher words for Canada\u2019s move towards recognition<\/a> \u2013 saying it \u201cwill make it very hard for us to make a trade deal\u201d \u2013 but later conceded that it was \u201cnot a dealbreaker\u201d. \u201cI didn\u2019t like what they said, but you know that\u2019s their opinion,\u201d he told reporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The US looks increasingly isolated as more of its allies prepare to join the push in September. Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Portugal all signed a letter in support of recognition at the UN summit. A parallel joint statement from Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt condemning Hamas and calling on it to lay down arms is seen as highly significant.<\/p>\n

But there is little hope for a ceasefire while Hamas torpedoes talks and the humanitarian situation in Gaza<\/a> remains dire as Israel maintains its blockade. UK officials say that while David Cameron was foreign secretary, the aim was for 200 trucks of aid to enter Gaza through Jordan every day. They are now expecting just 150 trucks to enter this entire week.<\/p>\n

Over the coming days, ministers\u2019 focus will be on efforts to get more aid into the territory and transport severely injured children to the UK for treatment. Meanwhile, all eyes were on Trump\u2019s envoy Steve Witkoff as he visited US-funded aid delivery points in Gaza<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the government got the American president into a place where he\u2019s at least not against [recognition], that\u2019s quite a shift,\u201d said Emily Thornberry, the chair of the foreign affairs committee. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to get the international community to agree to a plan, there\u2019s no way we\u2019re going to get anywhere without Trump\u2019s buy-in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was, in the end, an off-the-cuff remark from Donald Trump that moved the dial. \u201cI\u2019m not going…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":111474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[99,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-111473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-israel","9":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114956045346429027","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}