‘This is the moment’: Keir Starmer announces UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September
The British Prime Minister has made a huge call on the crisis in the Middle East, declaring “this is the moment to act”.
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Keir Starmer has announced the UK will formally recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
The potentially landmark move, part of the Prime Minister’s plan for “lasting peace”, came after the British leader recalled his cabinet from recess for urgent talks on the worsening situation in the besieged territory.
Sir Keir’s move, which follows French President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to recognise a State of Palestine at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly – would make the two European allies the first G7 nations to do so.
In a televised address from Downing Street immediately after the cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state if Israel has not taken the steps demanded by the time the Assembly is held in September.
It must “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, Sir Keir added.
“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,” he said.
“With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.”
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The UK leader also demanded several demands for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which continues to hold Israeli hostages seized in its attacks on October 7, 2023.
“They must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza,” Sir Keir said.
‘Hand of history’
Israel promptly said it “rejects” the UK move, arguing it “constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza”.
Sir Keir spoke to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu before the announcement, telling him “the situation in Gaza was intolerable”, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“He urged the Prime Minister to take immediate action to lift all restrictions on aid access,” she added, in a readout of the call.
Sir Keir also talked to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who “welcomed” the recognition announcement, the spokesperson noted.
Trump: ‘you really are rewarding Hamas’
US President Donald Trump said did not discuss Britain’s newly announced plan with Sir Keir.
“We never discussed it,” Mr Trump, who hosted the British PM at his Scottish golf course on Monday, told reporters on board Air Force One.
While declining to speak out against Sir Keir, he criticised such moves as rewarding Hamas, adding that “I’m not in that camp.”
“If you do that, you really are rewarding Hamas,” he said. “I’m not about to do that.”
The president says he spoke to Mr Netanyahu two days ago and expressed confidence in Israel’s ability to distribute food to Gazans, despite widespread criticism of its humanitarian efforts so far.
“They want to preside over the food centers, to make sure the distribution is proper,” he said. “I think Israel wants to do it. They don’t want Hamas stealing the money or stealing the food.”
“They need food and they need people to be able to get them the food,” he said of Gazans.
Last week Emmanuel Macron announced France also will formally recognise a Palestinian state.
In a post on X, the French President said he intended to “make the solemn announcement” at the meeting in September, noting that “there is no alternative”.
“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Mr Macron wrote.
“The urgency today is to end the war in Gaza and to provide aid to the civilian population. Peace is possible.”
‘No room left’: Netanyahu’s 90-day deadline
Mr Netanyahu has a three-month window to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages from Hamas and “finish the war in Gaza”, political analysts have said, amid global condemnations of the worsening starvation crisis in the territory.
On Sunday local time, Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza, began air-dropping food into the territory, and said it would allow the United Nations and other agencies to open secure land routes “to increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering” the Strip.
The moves coincide with Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, adjourning for its three-month summer recess – a political time-out during which no bills can be advanced and no government-overthrow attempts can be made.
Yohanen Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based, nonpartisan think tank, told The Washington Post the break gives the Prime Minister “three months of political calm” to change tack on Gaza without the risk of being ousted.
“There is a growing realisation that the war the way it’s conducted is not moving us forward to either of the war goals,” he said.
Earlier this month, a poll conducted by Israel’s Channel 12 revealed 74 per cent of the population – including 60 per cent of those who voted for Mr Netanyahu – support an agreement with Hamas that would release all the hostages at once in exchange for an end to the Gaza war. Almost half (49 per cent) of respondents said the leader’s reasons for insisting on a phased hostage-release deal were political, while 36 per cent said they were security-oriented. And more than half (55 per cent) said they believed his handling of the situation in Gaza was bad, versus 41 per cent who said they agreed with his conduct.
Mr Netanyahu has denied repeated – and mounting – criticism that he has prolonged the war partly for his own personal political benefit, ahead of elections slated for next year.
Hebrew University political scientist Gayil Talshir told The Post the Prime Minister “has no room left to manoeuvre”, adding: “He has to finish the war in Gaza.”
“Now that the coalition is already on the verge of collapsing, Netanyahu has about three months to do whatever he wants before he has to gather all the coalition partners again and decide whether to dissolve the Knesset and go for early elections or try to survive another year,” Dr Talshir said. Mr Netanyahu’s government now holds only 50 of 120 Knesset seats.
In a post on X on Sunday, Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accused Mr Netanyahu of discussing and implementing the loosening of aid behind his back.
“This is a surrender to Hamas’s deceitful campaign, which endangers the lives of IDF soldiers,” Mr Gvir wrote.
“This surrender is far more serious after the Prime Minister said on Friday that ‘we will examine alternative ways to release the hostages’.
“It turns out that the ‘alternative way’ is to surrender to Hamas and its deceitful campaigns and to increase the humanitarian aid that reaches it directly. This path distances the return of the hostages and, above all, distances the absolute victory in the war.
“The only way to win the war and bring back the hostages is to completely stop the ‘humanitarian’ aid, conquer the entire Strip, and encourage voluntary migration.”
Former IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told The New York Times on Monday that “Israel needs to fight until Hamas is defeated”. Its failure to do so, he claimed, was because of “an incoherent Israeli strategy, tremendous international and regional pressure against Israel, and Hamas’s willingness to leverage the suffering of the civilian population for its own cynical benefit”.
Israel needs to “strategically regroup, formulate a plan to defeat Hamas and provide a regionally and internationally acceptable solution for the future of the Gaza Strip”, Mr Conricus added.
‘Far from the solution’
The war in Gaza has now dragged on for almost 22 months, creating a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition among more than two million Palestinians – one human rights groups say has been exacerbated by an Israeli blockade on supplies, imposed from March to late May after ceasefire talks broke down.
The easing of the blockade coincided with the beginning of the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) operations, which effectively sidelined Gaza’s traditionally UN-led aid distribution system, and which have been criticised as grossly inadequate.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday welcomed the IDF’s steps to reduce restrictions on lifesaving aid, but said it “is far from the solution to end this nightmare”.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 147 people – including 88 children – have died from malnutrition since October 2023.
The UN and humanitarian agencies have begun delivering more truckloads of food after Israel announced its “tactical pause” – which the IDF said in a statement should disprove “the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip”.
Mr Netanyahu has also denied Israel was deliberately starving civilians – but on Tuesday, two local rights groups, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, accused the country of “genocide” – a first for Israeli NGOs.
The amount of aid entering the territory still falls far short of what is needed, experts said, calling for a permanent ceasefire, the reopening of more border crossings and a long-term, large-scale humanitarian operation.
“We’re one-and-a-half days into these new measures,” Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency, told AFP from Gaza.
“Saying whether or not it is making a difference on the ground will take time.”
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