Netanyahu blasts Starmer over pledge UK will recognise Palestine unless war ends
The UK would refrain from recognising a Palestinian state if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months.
The Prime Minister recalled the Cabinet from their summer holidays to discuss steps to end what he called the 'appalling situation in Gaza', where a UN assessment has warned the population is facing a mounting famine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"Starmer rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.
A jihadist state on Israel's border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.
Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen."
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 29, 2025
Sir Keir spoke with Mr Netanyahu ahead of making the announcement, when he also warned that a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East 'feels further away today than it has for many, many years'.
Mr Netanyahu did not hold back in his criticism of Sir Keir's announcement, writing on social media site X: 'Starmer rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims.'
He added: 'A jihadist state on Israel's border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.
'Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.'
In his address, Sir Keir insisted that Hamas must immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza'.
The British Government plans to 'make an assessment in September on how far the parties have met these steps', before it decides whether to recognise a state of Palestine, Sir Keir told reporters.
Speaking from Downing Street's state dining room – sometimes used for press conferences – the Prime Minister said: 'I can confirm the UK will recognise the state of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire, and commit to a long-term sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
'And this includes allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid and making clear that there will be no annexations in the West Bank.
'Meanwhile, our message to the terrorists of Hamas is unchanged but unequivocal: they must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.'
Palestinians search for aid that landed in the Mediterranean Sea after being airdropped over central Gaza (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
Sir Keir said the Government's 'primary aim' was getting aid into Gaza and getting hostages released when asked why recognition was conditional.
He added: 'This is intended to further that course, and it is done now because I am particularly concerned that the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many, many years and, therefore, it should be seen in both of those contexts.'
While Sir Keir signalled the UK could back away from recognising a Palestinian state if his conditions are met, No 10 is understood to believe that such a two-state solution would also proceed from negotiations towards a sustained peace.
The UK and its allies need to see 'at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day' to deliver aid, the Prime Minister added, and are together 'mounting a major effort to get humanitarian supplies back in' by air and by land.
Sir Keir Starmer answers questions from the media after making a statement in Downing Street (Toby Melville/PA)
The Prime Minister discussed a UK-led international plan to alleviate the crisis in Gaza with Donald Trump on Monday, when the US president acknowledged there was 'real starvation' in the territory.
Sir Keir has likened the plan he is working on with France and Germany to the coalition of the willing, the international effort to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace.
However, on Tuesday, Mr Trump suggested they had not directly discussed the prospect of recognising Palestine.
Sir Keir made a flurry of diplomatic phone calls throughout Tuesday, alongside his one with Mr Netanyahu.
These included to his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney; the president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmoud Abbas; and King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose nation is leading efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza.
About 20 tonnes of aid have been dropped by the UK and Jordan in recent days, according to Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
However, speaking at the UN in New York, he insisted aid must flow in unrestricted via a land route, adding: 'We have to have those trucks get in.'
Opposition parties, including the Lib Dems, the Greens and Plaid Cymru, have hit out at Sir Keir for using Palestinian statehood as a 'bargaining chip'.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel, meanwhile, said recognising Palestine 'will not secure lasting peace'.
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