Wednesday Briefing: U.K. May Recognize a Palestinian State
Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, announced yesterday that his country would recognize the state of Palestine in September if Israel did not agree to a cease-fire with Hamas and halt a war that has brought starvation to Gaza. Starmer's announcement followed a similar one by France last week. Here's what it would mean if both countries recognized a Palestinian state.
In addition to a cease-fire, Starmer said the Israeli government would have to agree not to annex the occupied West Bank and commit to a peace process that would result in a Palestinian state. Israel is highly unlikely to accept these demands.
Starmer's government has faced political pressure as the British public has recoiled from images of starving children in Gaza. 'The situation is simply intolerable,' he said.
Aid chaos: The desperation on the ground in Gaza can be seen from orbit. A satellite captured an image of hundreds of people crowding around an aid convoy in Khan Younis.
More Gaza news:
A U.N.-backed food security group said that 'the worst-case scenario of famine is playing out in Gaza,' and Gaza's health ministry announced that the death toll from the war had exceeded 60,000.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's far-right finance minister, said that the country was 'closer than ever' to rebuilding settlements in Gaza.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a MAGA stalwart, described the situation in Gaza as a 'genocide,' breaking sharply with her party in an indication of the right's growing skepticism about Israel's actions.
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Family condemns Hamas video showing emaciated Israeli hostage
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