Starmer: Palestinians have inalienable right to statehood
The Prime Minister made the comment on Thursday evening as he came under growing pressure from Labour MPs over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
In a statement, Sir Keir also condemned the 'unspeakable and indefensible' suffering in the strip and called it a 'humanitarian catastrophe'.
The Labour Government backs Palestinian statehood but has argued for months that it should be formally recognised at the right moment to further peace in the region.
The statement falls short of a promise to declare Palestinian statehood – something the French are pushing to be done next month.
Sir Keir said: 'We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.'
Cabinet ministers have reportedly been pushing privately for Sir Keir to announce UK recognition while Sir Sadiq Khan, Labour's London mayor, publicly joined the calls this week.
Pressure on Sir Keir is likely to intensify after Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana launched a new hard-left party to challenge Sir Keir.
The pair have accused the Government of enabling genocide and are expected to link up with several independent pro-Gaza MPs.
A UN conference on the issue, planned for June but delayed by the Israel-Iran war, is now due to take place next week.
Critics of immediate recognition have said that it should not happen until Hamas is removed from any leadership role in Gaza and all Israeli hostages are released.
Israel's government has characterised any recognition by the UK and France as a 'reward' for Hamas 's Oct 7 atrocities.
The US had been leading efforts to broker a Gaza ceasefire in recent months but Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, cut them off on Thursday.
He said the US was bringing home its negotiators, saying Hamas 'clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'.
Mr Witkoff added that the US would now 'consider alternative options to bring the hostages home', without clarifying what they would be.
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