The decision by Keir Starmer to recognise a Palestinian state has provoked anger from Israel’s government and families of British hostages held or killed by Hamas.
The Prime Minister said the “moment has now arrived” and insisted the move was the only way of achieving peace and a two-state solution in the Middle East.
But Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu accused the British government of rewarding terrorists and warned: “There will be no Palestinian state.”
The British government is braced for a negative response from Israel, The i Paper understands, including the prospect of further settlements in the West Bank.
Netanyahu, who is travelling to Washington for talks with Donald Trump, said his government intended to push ahead with Jewish settlement in the West Bank and he would make a full response on his return to Israel.
The controversial E1 settler project, which would bisect the West Bank and cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian territory, was a crucial factor in the Prime Minister’s decision to push ahead with plans for recognition.
In July Starmer had set conditions for Israel to be met before the UN General Assembly this week, including making progress towards a ceasefire in Gaza and towards a two state solution.
The UK recognition was announced as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heading to Washington for talks with Donald Trump (Photo: Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP, File)But the UK government believes that Israel’s “window” closed when it launched its ground assault on Gaza City and approved the E1 project.
France, Canada, Australia, Luxembourg and Malta are also recognising a state of Palestine at UNGA.
Starmer said his announcement was a “pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future”.
Just before the expected announcement, Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Netanyahu, said Hamas did not want a state alongside Israel, “they want a state instead of Israel”.
She added: “The people of Israel aren’t going to commit suicide because of the political needs of European politics.”
The Israeli foreign ministry condemned the move, saying: “Recognition is nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas.”
In a post on X it said: “Hamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the ‘fruit’ for the October 7 massacre. Don’t let Jihadist ideology dictate your policy.”
Families of hostages held in Gaza called the decision a “betrayal of humanity and a move that rewards Hamas while 48 hostages remain in captivity”.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, a group representing relatives of captives with British ties, said in a statement: “Instead of confronting Hamas, Britain has emboldened it. Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s move as a victory, while continuing to block ceasefire deals and humanitarian access.”
The move by the UK means that the government no longer refers to the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” but simply “Palestine” on its website and in official documentation.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is to write to her Palestinian counterpart to lay out the process to establish full diplomatic relations – meaning that at some point, after the war in Gaza is over, Britain plans to send an ambassador to Palestine.
Britain remains opposed to Hamas playing any role in a future Palestinian government and relations are instead being built with the Palestinian Authority.
In a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Starmer said: “I am conscious of the historical role that the United Kingdom has played in the Middle East. In 1917, Britain supported the principle of a national home for the Jewish people, noting that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities.
“In making this decision today, I reaffirm the United Kingdom’s commitment to a Palestinian State for the Palestinian people, and our enduring support for a two-state solution in which Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in peace and security.
“The United Kingdom looks forward to a new era of friendship and cooperation between the British and Palestinian peoples.”
Palestinian head of mission to the UK Husam Zomlot said the “long-overdue” recognition “marks an irreversible step towards justice, peace, and the correction of historic wrongs, including Britain’s colonial legacy, the Balfour Declaration, and its role in the dispossession of the Palestinian people”.
But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the move was “absolutely disastrous”, adding: “We will all rue the day this decision was made. Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas.
“It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.
“It is because Labour cannot fix the big problems in our society that they focus on discredited student union campaigns to appease the hard left.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The Prime Minister is wrong to recognise a Palestinian state.
“This is a reward for the Hamas terrorists and will do nothing to bring about peace.”
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