Israel condemns Keir Starmer over plan to recognise Palestine
The announcement was met with criticism by Israel. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said that the decision 'rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims'.
Starmer gave Israel an ultimatum on Tuesday afternoon as he said that the catastrophic failure to supply aid to Gaza meant that 'we see starving babies, children too weak to stand — images that will stay with us for a lifetime'.
He said the UK would recognise Palestine unless Israel reached a ceasefire, committed itself to a two-state solution and made clear that it would not annex the occupied West Bank. Given Israel's opposition to these terms, this means that recognition of a Palestinian state is almost inevitable.
The United States has also criticised the announcement. President Trump, who was flying back from Scotland, said it was 'rewarding Hamas'.
Netanyahu said on X: '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.' Israel said the decision 'harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza'.
Starmer now hopes to galvanise other world leaders into recognising a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly in September. He is now expected to embark on a diplomatic blitz to 'maximise' pressure on Israel.
The prime minister made the announcement under mounting pressure from his own party. A third of his cabinet had been pressing for recognition, and more than 130 Labour MPs signed a letter pressing him to act.
Starmer said 'this is the moment to act' and that the situation in Gaza meant the imperative to recognise a Palestinian state was 'under pressure like never before'.
He said: 'I've always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.
'With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act. So today — as part of this process towards peace — 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.
'This includes allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid, and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank. Meanwhile, our message to the terrorists of Hamas is unchanged and unequivocal.'
Melanie Ward, a Labour MP and former chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians which has been pushing for action, said Starmer's move was a 'huge shift in the UK's position'. She said the government was using it 'to put conditions on Israel that would drive desperately-needed, real change in the lives of Palestinians at this most horrific of times. It is the right thing to do.'
Speaking from Downing Street, the prime minister said that aid must be allowed in to Gaza. 'The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering. Now, 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. Yesterday I discussed this with President Trump and we are mounting a major effort to get humanitarian supplies back in.
'By air — and UK aid has been air dropped into Gaza today — and, crucially, by land we need to see at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day. But ultimately the only way to bring this humanitarian crisis to an end is through a long-term settlement.'
Trump said that he and Starmer had not discussed formally recognising Palestine during their meeting on Monday. He initially said 'we have no view on that' then added: 'You could make the case that you're rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don't think they should be rewarded. So I'm not in that camp, to be honest.'
Trump was asked whether his reaction to Starmer's announcement differed from his dismissive view of President Macron when Macron said that France would recognise the Palestinian state.
'I guess Starmer is doing the same as Macron, right?' Trump said. 'He's basically, is he saying the same thing? I think so. Essentially, they're saying the same thing, and that's OK. You know, it doesn't mean I have to agree.'
The Israeli foreign ministry said: 'The shift in the British government's position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.'
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said that Israel's actions in Gaza had 'horrified the world'. In an impassioned speech to a conference in New York, Lammy said 'the two-state solution is in peril' and that recognising a Palestinian state was the best way to save it.
Britain 'bears a special burden of responsibility' for ensuring a two-state solution as a result of the 1917 Balfour declaration that laid the foundations for a Jewish state in the Middle East, Lammy said.
Palestinians had suffered a 'historical injustice' in having their rights ignored after Britain promised to protect them, he added.
'The devastation in Gaza is heartbreaking. Children are starving and Israel's drip feeding of aid has horrified the world,' Lammy said. 'The Netanyahu government's rejection of a two-state solution is wrong — it's wrong morally and it's wrong strategically. It harms the interests of the Israeli people, closing off the only path to a just and lasting peace. And that is why we are determined to protect the viability of a two-state solution.'
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