Sir Keir Starmer announced in July that he was preparing to officially recognise the state, but only if Israel failed to meet certain conditions, including a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown no sign of ending his military campaign as devastating images of starvation in Gaza continue to emerge.
Israel has also argued there is no starvation in the enclave and no restrictions on food entering Gaza.
Palestinians inspect the scale of destruction after al-Ghafri Tower is completely destroyed as a result of the Israeli attacks on Gaza City, Gaza on September 15, 2025. (Photo by Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea/Anadolu via Getty Images)Several previous British governments have discussed making the move, but wanted it to be part of a peace process.
It has the status of a “permanent observer state”, meaning it is allowed to participate but has no voting rights.
Israel’s illegal military occupation of the West Bank means that the Palestinian authority, which was set up in the 1990s, does not have full control over its land and its people.
Palestinians, including children, try to receive hot meal, distributed by charity organizations, as people struggle with hunger due to Israeli food blockade at Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on September 21, 2025. (Photo by Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images)Zomlot was referring to the Balfour Declaration, supported by the UK, which created the Jewish state in 1917.
“I think today the British people should celebrate a day when history is corrected”, said Zomlot, “when wrongs are being righted, when recognition of the wrongs of the past are beginning to be corrected, and when taking responsibility of that colonial era”.
It is unlikely, however, that recognising the state of Palestine will bring the conflict any closer to ending.
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southwards after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 20, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu AlkasHe added that although the UK has recognised Palestine, doing so would not bring about the creation of a Palestinian state “overnight”.
Why now?
Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s ground and air campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people, and that children make up a third of that figure.
Palestinians, including children, gather and line up during the food distribution in the al-Mawasi area of the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, on September 19, 2025 (Photo by Abdallah F.s. Alattar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
More than a thousand Palestinians waiting for supplies near food distribution sites in Gaza have also been killed over the past several months.
square ISABEL HARDMAN Recognising Palestine is classic Starmer – a short-term fix with no plan
Read More
But UN experts has described GHF as “an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agenda in serious breach of international law”.
At a press conference on Thursday, Starmer said he had “made my position clear at the end of July, so the timing, it’s got nothing to do with this state visit”.
What have other countries said?
Australia also followed the UK and Canada in recognising the State of Palestine as part of a “co-ordinated international effort to build new momentum” to a two-state solution.
President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hold a press conference at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on September 18, 2025 (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Republican members of congress, including chairwoman Elise Stefanik and Senator Rick Scott, sent a letter to allies calling on them to reverse their position on the recognition of Palestine.
It added: “It sets the dangerous precent that violence, not diplomacy, is the most expedient means for terrorist groups like Hamas to achieve their political aims”. Recognition is unlikely to make any tangible difference to the war in Gaza, but is a symbolic gesture of support.
Hence then, the article about uk officially recognises palestine what it means and all you need to know was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( UK officially recognises Palestine — what it means and all you need to know )
Also on site :