In a major policy shift, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday announced that the United Kingdom will formally recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward a lasting peace process.Chairing a rare summer Cabinet meeting on the crisis, Starmer told ministers that recognition would move ahead unless Israel “takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution,” according to the news agency Associated Press.
He also added that Hamas must release all hostages, agree to a ceasefire, “accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza, and commit to disarmament.” Starmer said his government would assess “how far the parties have met these steps” before making a final decision on recognition in September.The UK has long backed a two-state solution, with Palestinian and Israeli states existing side by side, but had previously maintained that formal recognition of Palestine should come only as part of a negotiated peace deal. The recent escalation in Gaza, however, appears to have shifted the government’s stance.Starmer’s declaration comes amid mounting international and domestic pressure. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would become the first G7 nation to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September. That decision has galvanised calls across Europe, including within Starmer’s own Labour Party, to follow suit. Recognition of Palestine had also been part of Labour’s election-winning manifesto in 2024.According to news agency AFP, Starmer presented elements of the UK’s Gaza peace plan to US President Donald Trump during their meeting in Scotland on Monday. The UK plan, unlike Macron’s move, is said to be conditional, aimed at pushing Israel to halt hostilities and commit to a peace roadmap.“The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,” Starmer said last week, adding that he is “working on a pathway to peace” which includes recognising a Palestinian state.“I am unequivocal about that,” he said, as per AFP.Trump has publicly taken a softer stance on Starmer’s position than on Macron’s, telling reporters, “I don’t mind him taking a position.” Trump also signalled a shift in his own approach toward Gaza, acknowledging that “Israel has a lot of responsibility” and saying he would press Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians: “I want him to make sure they get the food,” Trump said.The UK, France, and Germany have all criticised Israel for withholding essential humanitarian aid in Gaza. Starmer has committed to joining Jordan-led airdrop missions to deliver relief to the enclave, where over two million people are facing what UN agencies have described as “a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition.”According to the AP, the UK’s conditions for recognising Palestine include not just a ceasefire, but also Israel’s agreement to halt any further annexation of West Bank territory, and a commitment to negotiating a two-state solution without the involvement of Hamas.A source cited by AFP said that London remains firm on “no role for Hamas” in any future Palestinian government.Meanwhile, Macron’s announcement has drawn criticism from Netanyahu, who called the decision “a grave mistake” and accused France of ignoring the threat posed by Hamas. The Israeli PM warned that his country would not accept “moral lectures” from countries that “reject independence in their own territories”.Despite such backlash, nearly 150 nations already recognise Palestine. The latest diplomatic push from Western powers reflects growing outrage over Israel’s actions in Gaza and concern over the long-term viability of the peace process.Starmer is expected to present his plan to allies in the coming days. “Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps,” he reiterated, calling it essential to any sustainable resolution to the conflict.Starmer said that despite the set of conditions he set out, Britain believes that “statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.”
