After an emergency cabinet meeting about the situation in Gaza, PM Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that the UK will follow France’s Emmanuel Macron in recognizing the Palestinian state at the United Nations meeting in September if Israel does not take “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza.”
Starmer said the conditions include agreeing to a ceasefire and committing to a long-term peace process. Also included were letting UN aid organizations into Gaza and no annexation of the West Bank—the latter a proposition discussed in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) last week.
Both Conservative and Labour governments have long insisted that recognizing Palestine as a state must come through direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and Israel. But over 200 MPs, more than half from Labour, last week called on the PM to immediately recognize a Palestinian state.
Israel accused Starmer of pandering to France and his own MPs, and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement to the BBC:
Israel rejects the statement by the prime minister of the United Kingdom.
The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.
