Sir Keir Starmer’s threat to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza has been condemned by the US. Tammy Bruce from the US state department described the move as a “slap in the face” for victims of the October 7 massacre by Hamas militants.
She told a briefing: “It gives one group hope, and that’s Hamas. It is a rewarding of that kind of behaviour that if you wait long enough, if you don’t cooperate in any other normal environment where someone was so utterly defeated, they would surrender.” US President Donald Trump was more relaxed about Sir Keir’s plan, telling reporters on Air Force One that he didn’t agree with the move, adding the UK is following France, which was “OK” but didn’t mean the US leader had to agree.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir of rewarding Hamas’s “monstrous terrorism” and punishing the group’s victims. He added: “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.”
Sir Keir said Britain will recognise a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the “appalling” situation in Gaza, agrees to a ceasefire and commits to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
He said this includes allowing the United Nations to restart the supply of aid and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank.
It seems highly unlikely the Israeli government could meet such conditions, which cut to the heart of the most intractable issues in the conflict. Mr Netanyahu rejects the two-state solution on both nationalistic and security grounds.
Sir Keir repeated Britain’s demands for Hamas to release all the hostages it holds, to agree to a ceasefire, to disarm and “accept they will play no part in the government of Gaza”.
The UK has long supported the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, but has said recognition should come as part of a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict.
Sir Keir said Britain was willing to take the step because the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many years.
He said despite the set of conditions he laid out, Britain believes that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.
Pressure to formally recognise Palestinian statehood has mounted since French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country will become the first major Western power to recognise a Palestinian state in September.
As with France, UK recognition would be largely symbolic, but it is part of a broader European and global shift against Israel and could increase diplomatic pressure for an end to the conflict in Gaza.
More than 140 countries recognise a Palestinian state, including a dozen in Europe. Mr Macron’s announcement last week made France the first G7 country — and the largest in Europe — to take that step.