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Telegraph
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
British recognition for Palestine is to play a valuable card and get nothing for it
On Thursday night, Hamas was busy writing a statement of praise for President Macron. The French President declared that France would officially recognise a Palestinian state, much to the delight of the Islamist terrorist group. In the UK context, some voices are calling for Prime Minister Starmer to follow Macron's Napoleonic cosplaying. Were the UK to actually recognise a Palestinian state, such a decision would have exceptionally dangerous repercussions not only for Israelis but for the West as a whole. Chief among them would be that Palestinian recognition would be a reward for hostage-taking, for rape, for murder, for burning innocent people alive. Recognising a Palestinian state in a post-October 7 reality would be nothing less than a reward for terrorism. Few would argue that this impetus for unilateral Palestinian recognition has stemmed from the atrocious acts that Hamas committed on October 7 – the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Remember, this push for recognition was not on the table on October 6. Be in no doubt, Islamist extremists are watching closely, terrorists are watching intently and the signal that they are receiving is that their violent tactics yield positive results for them in the UK and the West. They say it themselves: Hamas has welcomed multiple statements coming from London. I am sure similar praise from Hamas would come again were the UK to recognise a Palestinian state, in the same way that the terror group gleefully congratulated Macron. Recognition would be utter folly – terrorism should be eliminated, not encouraged. You may ask, what concessions are those who call for recognition asking for from the Palestinians in return? Nothing. Our 50 hostages, still languishing in the torturous terror dungeons of Gaza will not be released. Hamas will continue to be the governing authority in Gaza. It really would be a masterclass in futile diplomacy. The tragic reality is that Israel does not have, and never has had, a genuine Palestinian partner for peace. Indeed, the history of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process reads as a timeline of missed opportunities for a Palestinian statehood due to the phenomenon of Palestinian rejectionism and the refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state within any borders. And yet, we are repeatedly told that Yasser Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, is a credible partner in that respect. How ridiculous. It was less than a year ago that Abbas praised the October 7 massacre. Furthermore, if Abbas is so pro-democracy, why is he half-way through the 21st year of his four-year term? Mahmoud Abbas has a history of Holocaust denial, having blamed the Jews for the Holocaust on multiple occasions, including in September 2023 when he said: 'Hitler Fought the European Jews Because of Their Usury, Money Dealings, It Was Not about Anti-semitism.' Most worrying of all, Abbas currently has a policy in place in which the 'moderate' Palestinian Authority literally pays salaries to the families of terrorists who murder Israelis. The more Jews murdered, the more money they receive. The PA's 'Pay for Slay' policy tragically ensures that Palestinian terrorism remains a profitable industry. For Western governments to recognise a Palestinian state, would be a de facto acceptance of Pay for Slay, which crucially would take us further away from peace and encourage more murders of Israelis and Jewish people. I have been asking myself what impact would result from such a decision, other than the aforementioned encouragement for terror? There would be no positive impact as far as the Middle East is concerned, with recognition only serving as an act of grandstanding and virtue-signalling. Positive progress can only come through bilateral discussions. Unhelpful, unilateral steps seeking to bypass Israel will achieve absolutely nothing as the reality on the ground would remain the same. And that reality is that there can be no progress or positive impact in the Israeli-Palestinian context as long as our hostages remain in captivity and Hamas remains in power. In recognising a Palestinian state, the UK would be playing a major card which could gain concessions from the Palestinians towards peace for absolutely nothing. It would also signal a significant departure from the policy of the US administration. As US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, remarked following Macron's announcement of recognition: 'This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7.' Ultimately, we have to move beyond empty words and virtue-signalling and look into the practical implications of what people are saying. When people call for recognising a Palestinian state, who would they be recognising as the Palestinian leadership? Who would they wish to govern? Presumably not the elected, genocidal terrorist group, Hamas? So, would it then be Mahmoud Abbas and his terror-supporting Palestinian Authority? Amid such global instability, the last thing the world would need is another failed state like that of Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, or Libya. We have too many of them in our region. Corruption, jihadi extremists, power vacuums, radicalism, Iranian interference, a plethora of armed terrorist groups – a Palestinian state would have all the ingredients of a would-be failed state. Why would a Palestinian state be any different to the others? What would an education system overseen by a Holocaust denier look like? In the post-October 7 reality that Israelis are living in, what security guarantees are being given to us for our legitimate concerns? I have yet to hear a viable answer to any of those questions.
Telegraph
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Britain must not recognise Palestinian statehood
A seismic shift in the UK's foreign policy could dramatically emerge over the coming weeks as the Government considers whether to recognise a Palestinian state. Faced with such a landmark decision, we must all hope that the Government is thoroughly stress testing the law of unintended consequences. The Mayor of London certainly hasn't, given his spectacularly one-sided and performative intervention which failed to even mention Hamas. We are united in our desire for an end to the cycle of unbearable violence in the region, but make no mistake, this dramatic move would backfire by rewarding the extreme protest groups which are actively threatening our democracy and pose a clear and present security threat to the British public. Advocating for the Palestinians is a legitimate cause, but there are countless examples of Islamist extremists and far-Left groups hurling abuse and threats at elected politicians, disrupting the public through criminal acts and intimidation, targeting Jewish places of worship and gathering and even shaping the outcome of elections. On so many occasions we have witnessed outright calls for the destruction of Israel as well as the verbal and physical targeting of 'Zionists' (a not-so-clever code word for Jews). It's the violence that led the government to proscribe Palestine Action, not the peaceful advocacy. Ever since Hamas unleashed its heinous pogrom against Israel on that dark October 7 day, Britain's urban centres have been repeatedly turned into seething rivers of rage and intolerance far beyond the realms of freedom of speech – especially Sir Sadiq's increasingly lawless London. Calls for violent jihad and the flags of terror groups brazenly displayed. Shop windows smashed. Terror attacks on the Israeli Embassy in London thwarted. Universities and cultural events invaded and subverted. Actions once unthinkable have effectively been normalised. Ever more people drawn into unacceptable behaviour. They will rejoice should Labour prematurely recognise a Palestinian state. Note, moreover, that 147 states have already recognised Palestine, without any improvement in the situation. The international law requirements for recognition of a state are a permanent population, defined territory, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. 'Palestine' meets none of these. A sham recognition will do nothing to change the facts on the ground. This Government has stoutly defended international law and should not contemplate its undermining by mob force and intimidation. The sobering findings of the Commission on Antisemitism by Lord Mann and Dame Penny Mordaunt, alongside StandWithUs UK's report into rampant anti-Semitism at universities, should give the Government pause for thought before taking actions which could add to an already combustible situation. Rather, top of their agenda should be the implementation of the recommendations of that Commission. Recent polling of Palestinians shows that a future Palestinian state is likely to be governed by Hamas rather than the deeply unpopular Palestinian Authority. Despite being proscribed as a terror group in the UK, the Government is risking presenting Hamas with the ultimate gift of statehood. Hamas' leaders have been clear about their intentions to repeat the October 7 massacre again and so the nightmare will tragically continue for Israelis and Palestinians alike. It would also pose an enormous challenge to the UK's overstretched police forces and a major test for our exceptional security services. Their efforts to counter those that support terrorism at home would be compromised by the very legitimacy that the British government would bestow upon Hamas and hence its followers. British cheerleaders of Hamas can hardly believe their luck. Nor can Iran, whose fingerprints are visible on so much of this – its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will be emboldened to plot even more terror attacks on UK soil. Public displays of anti-Semitism will become the norm. The list of harmful consequences goes on. It would create a crisis in the UK's all-important relationship with the US at a time of global precarity, and send a signal to the likes of Iran, Russia and China – let alone terror groups – that violence pays. The increased likelihood of wars abroad and terrorism at home will cost British lives and taxpayers. offered a state and turned it down. That is not what they want. They want the removal of Israel.
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Keir Starmer and Sadiq Khan lay wreaths at 7/7 bombings memorial
Prime minister Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan laid wreaths at the 7/7 memorial in Hyde Park today (7 July), in a service commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 2005 London terrorist attacks that killed 52 people. At 8:50am, three suicide bombers detonated explosives on the London Underground at Aldgate, Edgware Road, and Russell Square. A fourth blast struck a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square an hour later. The coordinated attacks, carried out by Islamist extremists, also injured over 770 people and remain one of the deadliest in the UK's history.
