UK set to recognize Palestinian statehood

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — The United Kingdom will recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire and takes steps to revive a two-state solution, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday.

Starmer said the decision would be “a contribution to a proper peace process” and confirmed Britain would move toward formal recognition at the UN General Assembly in September unless Israel allows aid into Gaza, commits to no annexations in the West Bank and ends military operations.

“This is the moment to act,” Starmer said, days after France President Emmanuel Macron committed to recognizing a Palestinian state at the UN.

Palestine is currently recognized by 75% of U.N. member states but not by several major powers. The U.K. and France would be the first Western members of the U.N. Security Council to do so, leaving the United States as the only holdout.

In 2024, a handful of countries recognized Palestine, including Ireland, Norway and Spain, hoping to exert diplomatic pressure to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. Mexico was the latest country to formally recognize statehood in February.

Starmer also addressed Hamas, saying the terrorist group must “immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a cease-fire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.”

​​Foreign Secretary David Lammy, addressing the United Nations in New York, echoed the conditions, saying the U.K. “intends to recognize the state of Palestine” following a round of applause from delegates.

“The Netanyahu government’s rejection of a two-state solution is wrong,” Lammy said, adding that support for Israeli security does not preclude support for Palestinian self-determination. “Hamas are not the Palestinian people,” he said. “There is no contradiction in support for Israel security and support for Palestinian statehood.”

President Donald Trump, who met with Starmer during his trip to Scotland, said they hadn’t discussed the U.K. government’s decision.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement criticizing the U.K.’s decision: “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 cease-fire in Gaza.”

Why is recognition conditional?

Labour has faced growing calls to act, with more than a third of MPs last week urging Starmer to back recognition. A joint letter from 220 lawmakers said the U.K. needed to send a “powerful” message and restore hope for a two-state solution.

On June 3, a group of Conservative MPs pushed for recognition. In a letter, eight senior Tories warned that settlement expansion, Gaza’s destruction and political stalemate were making the two-state vision “rapidly slipping away.”

However, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, rejected the move, saying it would “reward Hamas” after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. “Now is not the time,” she said.

The conditional offer of statehood recognition has received criticism from both the left and right.

Zarah Sultana, who left Labour to set up a new left-wing party, said Palestinian statehood is “not a bargaining chip,” accusing the government of failing to back sanctions or an arms embargo.

Tory MP Roger Gale went further, calling for sanctions on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of “weaponizing food and water” and committing war crimes.

The charity ActionAid UK has also accused PM Starmer of bargaining with statehood.

“We are appalled to see Palestinian statehood dangled like a bargaining chip to get the Israeli government to cease its genocidal assault on Gaza,” said co-CEO Hannah Bond in a statement.

“It should be evident by now that words of criticism will not compel the Israeli government to change course,” she added, urging the government to “use every diplomatic lever” to “bring about an urgently needed cease-fire,” including the halt of all arms transfers to the Israeli government and imposing sanctions.

It’s unlikely that Netanyahu will reverse his stance on a two-state solution, having consistently opposed it. Members of his government, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, are proponents of expanding settlements in the West Bank.

Humanitarian collapse

The U.K.’s decision comes amid a sharp escalation in humanitarian concerns in Gaza. The U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification platform said one in three people are now going days without food. Its third famine indicator, a rise in deaths from hunger-related causes, has now been met.

“This is unlike anything we have seen in this century,” said Ross Smith, the UN World Food Programme’s emergencies director. “It’s clearly a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes.”

Follow @jayfranklinlive