U.K. to recognize Palestine as a state unless Israel agrees to 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza
'We demand an immediate ceasefire to stop the slaughter,' a statement from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said on Tuesday. It set a September deadline.
The statement also called for the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Around 50 people remain captivity in the enclave, according the the most recent Israeli tally released last month, although 28 are believed to be dead.
The total number of Palestinians killed since Israel launched its offensive in October 2023 has passed 60,000, the health ministry in the Gaza Strip announced earlier. Also on Tuesday, the world's leading body on hunger said the 'worst-case scenario of famine' was unfolding there.
'Unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza,' while allowing the U.N. 'to restart without delay the supply of humanitarian support to the people of Gaza to end starvation,' it would recognize the state of Palestine in September before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the statement added.
Hunger and malnutrition, which had been worsening since the beginning of the war, began to spiral after Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas in May, permitting only a trickle of desperately needed aid into the enclave. Israel has also sought to replace the United Nations-run aid structure with Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Backed by the U.S. with the help of private security contractors, it runs four distribution sites, compared with the hundreds that were in place before.
The U.K.'s decision follows French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement Thursday that France would recognize Palestine as a state.
If they end up recognizing Palestine, the U.K. and France would join more than 140 countries that already do.
The U.K.'s move will almost certainly provoke an angry response from Israel and the United States. On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called France's decision 'reckless' and serving 'Hamas propaganda.'
Starmer has faced pressure from growing numbers of lawmakers in his ruling Labour Party about recognizing a Palestinian state and put pressure on the Israeli government.
Successive British governments have said they will formally recognize a Palestinian state when the time is right, but they have never setting a timetable or specified the necessary conditions to do so.
Tuesday's announcement came after Starmer recalled his Cabinet during its summer recess to discuss a new peace plan being worked on with European leaders, part of which will focus on getting more aid into Gaza.
Among Americans, Israel's war in Gaza, which was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks that killed some 1,200 people, has falled dramatically, according to a new Gallup poll. Only about one-third approved of them military action, which represents a drop from the beginning of the war when about half of Americans approved of the operation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Albanese accused of Palestine 'mess', surprise statistic despite Coles and Woolworths crackdown, commuter horror as train crashes
Hello and welcome to Yahoo's live news blog this Thursday. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says Anthony Albanese has made "a mess" of Australia's position on the Israel-Gaza war. Her comments come after Hamas welcomed the prime minister's call to recognise a Palestinian state. Supermarket prices have risen at their highest rate in five years, new research shows. That's despite the Albanese government promising to significant action to ensure Australians can afford their weekly shop. Follow along as we bring you regular updates throughout the day. The $750k Powerball winner has missed out on The mystery punter who scored June's incredible $100 million Powerball jackpot has made a costly $750,000 mistake by failing to step forward and reveal their identity. The prize money remains unclaimed despite an intensifying search for the winner, who purchased the unregistered ticket from a Bondi Junction newsagent in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Other than that, little is known about the new multimillionaire despite several theories emerging, including that the winner could even be a tourist. It's been nine weeks since the unknown player won the hefty sum. If, theoretically, they had taken their winnings and put it in a term deposit or something similar, earning somewhere around the market rate of 4.5 per cent, they would have made an extra $750,000 in the last two months alone in pre-tax income. That's about the median price of an apartment in Sydney's notoriously expensive housing market. Read more about what lottery officials are doing to find the mystery winner here. Surprise supermarket reveal despite Albo crackdown While the Albanese government has vowed to crack down on inflated supermarket prices, putting market leaders Coles and Woolworths on notice not much has changed in the past 12 months it seems. In fact, according to Canstar Blue research, the situation is the worst its been in the past five years. Research found the average spend on weekly groceries for a household of four had increased 11 per cent in the last year to $240. 'That's the biggest annual jump recorded in the last five years, and likely no surprise to anyone who's been at the checkout lately,' Canstar Blue spokesperson Eden Radford said. Opposition Leader blasts Albanese after Hamas praise Sussan Ley says Anthony Albanese is 'making a real mess' after Hamas praised his decision to recognise Palestinian statehood. Hamas, the Islamist militants behind the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, overnight issued statements to Australian media saying it welcomed any support to 'help the Palestinian people achieve their national goals'. The group - a registered terrorist organisation in Australia - runs Gaza, where Israel has waged a 22-month war in a bid to wipe it out and rescue hostages taken the October 7 assault. The Opposition Leader said on Thursday the Prime Minister needed to rethink his decision. 'On the same day, a listed terror organisation calls our Prime Minister a hero, while our closest ally, the US, says that these actions are going to make peace in the region less likely,' Ms Ley told Nine's Today. 'So it's really quite extraordinary, because remember, the Prime Minister used justification for this decision by saying Hamas would not be involved. 'And I saw the Treasurer yesterday saying, oh, Hamas will have no role in a future Palestinian state. Really? As if we can control these things?' Read more from NewsWire here. Commuter chaos as train and truck collide A truck and a packed commuter train have collided in Brisbane's south, sparking major delays on South East Queensland lines. Emergency services were called to a stopping at Bonemill Rd in in Runcorn shortly after 7am on Thursday after reports the trailer section of a truck and the train collided. A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson confirmed about 300 passengers were on-board the train at the time. Only a single person was left complaining of injury, with a split lip and back pain. The drivers of both the truck and the train were uninjured. Queensland Fire Department crews attended the scene but had left shortly before 9am. The incident sparked chaos on the state's train network, with services between Kuraby and Altandi suspended and replacement buses arranged. - NewsWire Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The $750k Powerball winner has missed out on The mystery punter who scored June's incredible $100 million Powerball jackpot has made a costly $750,000 mistake by failing to step forward and reveal their identity. The prize money remains unclaimed despite an intensifying search for the winner, who purchased the unregistered ticket from a Bondi Junction newsagent in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Other than that, little is known about the new multimillionaire despite several theories emerging, including that the winner could even be a tourist. It's been nine weeks since the unknown player won the hefty sum. If, theoretically, they had taken their winnings and put it in a term deposit or something similar, earning somewhere around the market rate of 4.5 per cent, they would have made an extra $750,000 in the last two months alone in pre-tax income. That's about the median price of an apartment in Sydney's notoriously expensive housing market. Read more about what lottery officials are doing to find the mystery winner here. The mystery punter who scored June's incredible $100 million Powerball jackpot has made a costly $750,000 mistake by failing to step forward and reveal their identity. The prize money remains unclaimed despite an intensifying search for the winner, who purchased the unregistered ticket from a Bondi Junction newsagent in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Other than that, little is known about the new multimillionaire despite several theories emerging, including that the winner could even be a tourist. It's been nine weeks since the unknown player won the hefty sum. If, theoretically, they had taken their winnings and put it in a term deposit or something similar, earning somewhere around the market rate of 4.5 per cent, they would have made an extra $750,000 in the last two months alone in pre-tax income. That's about the median price of an apartment in Sydney's notoriously expensive housing market. Read more about what lottery officials are doing to find the mystery winner here. Surprise supermarket reveal despite Albo crackdown While the Albanese government has vowed to crack down on inflated supermarket prices, putting market leaders Coles and Woolworths on notice not much has changed in the past 12 months it seems. In fact, according to Canstar Blue research, the situation is the worst its been in the past five years. Research found the average spend on weekly groceries for a household of four had increased 11 per cent in the last year to $240. 'That's the biggest annual jump recorded in the last five years, and likely no surprise to anyone who's been at the checkout lately,' Canstar Blue spokesperson Eden Radford said. While the Albanese government has vowed to crack down on inflated supermarket prices, putting market leaders Coles and Woolworths on notice not much has changed in the past 12 months it seems. In fact, according to Canstar Blue research, the situation is the worst its been in the past five years. Research found the average spend on weekly groceries for a household of four had increased 11 per cent in the last year to $240. 'That's the biggest annual jump recorded in the last five years, and likely no surprise to anyone who's been at the checkout lately,' Canstar Blue spokesperson Eden Radford said. Opposition Leader blasts Albanese after Hamas praise Sussan Ley says Anthony Albanese is 'making a real mess' after Hamas praised his decision to recognise Palestinian statehood. Hamas, the Islamist militants behind the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, overnight issued statements to Australian media saying it welcomed any support to 'help the Palestinian people achieve their national goals'. The group - a registered terrorist organisation in Australia - runs Gaza, where Israel has waged a 22-month war in a bid to wipe it out and rescue hostages taken the October 7 assault. The Opposition Leader said on Thursday the Prime Minister needed to rethink his decision. 'On the same day, a listed terror organisation calls our Prime Minister a hero, while our closest ally, the US, says that these actions are going to make peace in the region less likely,' Ms Ley told Nine's Today. 'So it's really quite extraordinary, because remember, the Prime Minister used justification for this decision by saying Hamas would not be involved. 'And I saw the Treasurer yesterday saying, oh, Hamas will have no role in a future Palestinian state. Really? As if we can control these things?' Read more from NewsWire here. Sussan Ley says Anthony Albanese is 'making a real mess' after Hamas praised his decision to recognise Palestinian statehood. Hamas, the Islamist militants behind the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, overnight issued statements to Australian media saying it welcomed any support to 'help the Palestinian people achieve their national goals'. The group - a registered terrorist organisation in Australia - runs Gaza, where Israel has waged a 22-month war in a bid to wipe it out and rescue hostages taken the October 7 assault. The Opposition Leader said on Thursday the Prime Minister needed to rethink his decision. 'On the same day, a listed terror organisation calls our Prime Minister a hero, while our closest ally, the US, says that these actions are going to make peace in the region less likely,' Ms Ley told Nine's Today. 'So it's really quite extraordinary, because remember, the Prime Minister used justification for this decision by saying Hamas would not be involved. 'And I saw the Treasurer yesterday saying, oh, Hamas will have no role in a future Palestinian state. Really? As if we can control these things?' Read more from NewsWire here. Commuter chaos as train and truck collide A truck and a packed commuter train have collided in Brisbane's south, sparking major delays on South East Queensland lines. Emergency services were called to a stopping at Bonemill Rd in in Runcorn shortly after 7am on Thursday after reports the trailer section of a truck and the train collided. A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson confirmed about 300 passengers were on-board the train at the time. Only a single person was left complaining of injury, with a split lip and back pain. The drivers of both the truck and the train were uninjured. Queensland Fire Department crews attended the scene but had left shortly before 9am. The incident sparked chaos on the state's train network, with services between Kuraby and Altandi suspended and replacement buses arranged. - NewsWire A truck and a packed commuter train have collided in Brisbane's south, sparking major delays on South East Queensland lines. Emergency services were called to a stopping at Bonemill Rd in in Runcorn shortly after 7am on Thursday after reports the trailer section of a truck and the train collided. A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson confirmed about 300 passengers were on-board the train at the time. Only a single person was left complaining of injury, with a split lip and back pain. The drivers of both the truck and the train were uninjured. Queensland Fire Department crews attended the scene but had left shortly before 9am. The incident sparked chaos on the state's train network, with services between Kuraby and Altandi suspended and replacement buses arranged. - NewsWire
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jimmy Lai: Landmark trial of Hong Kong's rebel mogul resumes
Hailed by some as a hero and scorned by others as a traitor, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is in the final stage of his national security trial. Closing arguments begin on Thursday for Lai, who is accused of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law. The trial has drawn international attention, with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for Lai's release. The 77-year-old has British as well as Chinese citizenship - though China does not recognise dual nationality, and therefore considers Lai to be exclusively Chinese. Lai has been detained since December 2020 and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if he is convicted. Critics say Lai's case shows how Hong Kong's legal system has been weaponised to silence political opposition. Lai has been a persistent thorn in China's side. Unlike other tycoons who rose to the top in Hong Kong, Mr Lai became one of the fiercest critics of the Chinese state and a leading figure advocating democracy in the former British territory. "I'm a born rebel," he told the BBC in an interview in 2020, hours before he was charged. "I have a very rebellious character." What a defiant mogul's trial says about Hong Kong Hong Kong's year under China's controversial law He is the most prominent person charged under the controversial national security law which China introduced in 2020, in response to massive protests which erupted in Hong Kong the year before. The legislation criminalises a wider range of dissenting acts which Beijing considers subversion and secession, among other things. Beijing says the national security law is necessary to maintain stability in Hong Kong but critics say it has effectively outlawed dissent. Over the years, Lai's son Sebastien has called for his release. In February, the younger Lai urged Starmer and US President Donald Trump to take urgent action, adding that his father's "body is breaking down". Rags to riches Lai was born in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, to a wealthy family that lost everything when the communists took power in 1949. He was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat. While working odd jobs and knitting in a small clothing shop he taught himself English. He went from a menial role to eventually founding a multi-million dollar empire including the international clothing brand Giordano. The chain was a huge success. But when China sent in tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, Lai began a new journey as a vocal democracy activist as well as an entrepreneur. He started writing columns criticising the massacre that followed the demonstrations in Beijing and established a publishing house that went on to become one of Hong Kong's most influential. As China responded by threatening to shut his stores on the mainland, leading him to sell the company, Lai launched a string of popular pro-democracy titles that included Next, a digital magazine, and the widely read Apple Daily newspaper. In a local media landscape increasingly fearful of Beijing, Lai had been a persistent critic of Chinese authorities both through his publications and writing. This has seen him become a hero for many in Hong Kong, who view him as a man of courage who took great risks to defend the freedoms of the city. But on the mainland he is viewed as a "traitor" who threatens Chinese national security. In recent years, masked attackers firebombed Lai's house and company headquarters. He was also the target of an assassination plot. But none of the threats stopped him from airing his views robustly. He was a prominent part of the city's pro-democracy demonstrations and was arrested twice in 2021 on illegal assembly charges. When China passed Hong Kong's new national security law in June 2020, Lai told the BBC it sounded the "death knell" for the territory. The influential entrepreneur also warned that Hong Kong would become as corrupt as China. Without the rule of law, he said, its coveted status as a global financial hub would be "totally destroyed". The media mogul is known for his frankness and acts of flamboyance. In 2021, he urged Donald Trump to help the territory, saying he was "the only one who can save us" from China. His newspaper, Apple Daily, published a front-page letter that finished: "Mr President, please help us." For Lai, such acts were necessary to defend the city which had taken him in and fuelled his success. He once told news agency AFP: "I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything... Maybe it's time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it." Lai has been slapped with various charges - including unauthorised assembly and fraud - since 2020. He has been in custody since December of that year. The prosecution of Lai has captured international attention, with rights groups and foreign governments urging his release. Over the years, Sebastien Lai has travelled the world to denounce his father's arrest and condemn Hong Kong for punishing "characteristics that should be celebrated". "My father is in jail for the truth on his lips, courage in his heart, and freedom in his soul," he had said. Silenced and erased, Hong Kong's decade of protest is now a defiant memory Hong Kong pro-China informer: 'Why I've reported dozens of people to police' One of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties disbands 'Never': Jimmy Lai denies foreign collusion in landmark trial
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. school district to teachers: Your political opinions don't belong in the classroom
Days before the start of classes, San Francisco school leaders reminded teachers that they can't express political opinions during the school day, including in what they say, wear or what they put on their walls. District officials encouraged principals to reinforce those restrictions as educators and staff participated in back-to-school training this week. The guidance follows a divisive battle last school year over accusations of political activism among educators in city schools, particularly in ethnic studies courses. Controversial activities included teachers encouraging students to write letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther sentenced to death in 1981 for murdering a Philadelphia police officer, or asking them to participate in anti-Israel protests. In other cases, teachers hung pro-Palestinian posters in classrooms, or described Israel as colonizers committing genocide. While the laws and policies are not new, they have been often ignored or absent from staff training sessions. District officials, last year, gave principals the materials to train staff on bias and personal opinions, but it was unclear how many used them. This year, one veteran teacher said it was the first such training in their career. 'Many teachers have been dangerously misled about their professional freedoms and responsibilities,' the educator said. 'K-12 teachers don't have the same academic freedoms as university instructors. Our students are minor children.' The district's teachers union, which has taken a pro-Palestinian stance and has advocated for teachers who wish to speak out about the war in Gaza, did not immediately return requests for comment about the training. In February, officials from the union wrote in a pro-Palestinian resolution that 'educators who utilized their democratic rights to speak out against the war were repressed or harassed by school authorities.' In recent years, Bay Area schools have seen an uptick in politically motivated instruction and the opinions of staff and educators publicly displayed. That has included student walkouts, bolstered by teachers and their unions, as well as posters and staff clothing reflecting beliefs, including candidates, government policies and the war in Gaza. Accusations of antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of harassment in schools have grown specifically since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel in and the retaliatory bombing of Gaza, with hundreds of official complaints filed at the district, state and federal level. District officials said the most recent training was proactive and not punitive and aimed to help staff navigate complex and sensitive topics in a way that aligns with state law and school board policies. 'If parents or students see something they are concerned about they should contact their principal,' said district spokesperson Laura Dudnick. 'When concerns arise, we follow a clear process for reviewing them that is consistent with labor agreements and Board policy.' State education law requires an education free of harassment and bias and equal access to learning regardless of race, religion, national origin or other protected status. But that has been broadly interpreted across public schools in San Francisco and the Bay Area and, at times, rarely enforced. In the spring, San Francisco Superintendent Maria Su vowed to address the issue following community concerns raised specifically about ethnic studies courses and, more broadly, antisemitic content and harassment amid pro-Palestinian activism. 'Teaching should be about teaching students how to think,' not what to think,' she said in June. Su decided to suspend the district's homegrown ethnic studies curriculum, which critics said was divisive, antisemitic and promoted progressive activism. The board in July purchased an off-the-shelf replacement to be used for the year-long required ethnic studies course for ninth graders. In addition, Su is expected to issue an administrative order regarding the use of supplemental materials used by teachers to ensure they adhere to state and district guidelines. The training materials given to principals also notes that employees cannot solicit students or families to further their ideological persuasions or use district resources, including district email, to communicate or advocate for their political opinions. 'Students should be challenged in their coursework and schools should provide a safe and rigorous experience where they can express their thinking and listen to others,' said school board President Phil Kim. 'Our whole job here as educators is to create the conditions for all of that to take place. 'This is what I come back to: What is our responsibility as educators?' he said. 'It's not about us. It's about the kids.'
