Starmer denies giving Hamas a ‘PR boost’ with his Palestine recognition plan
PM says that he is 'really clear' Hamas is a terror group who can have nothing to do with governance of a future Palestine
Keir Starmer has denied giving Hamas a public relations boost with the UK government’s new plan on Palestine recognition saying he has been “really clear” Hamas should “release the hostages straight away.”
Asked if he had given Hamas a PR boost by talking about recognition in advance of their release , the Prime Minister told Channel 5: “They should release the hostages straight away and they should play absolutely no part in the governance of Palestine at any point.”
He said the hostages taken during the October 7 2023 attacks had been held for a “very, very long time in awful circumstances, unimaginable circumstances, and Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and that’s why I’m really clear about Hamas”.
Sir Keir added: “We do, alongside that, have to do all that we can to alleviate the awful situation on the ground in Gaza. We need aid in volume and at scale.”
Starmer told Channel 5:”Let me be really clear on my position on Hamas.
“There are terrorist organisation. They should release the hostages straight away and they should play absolutely no part in the governance of Palestine at any point – this is a really important point because this is nothing to do with recognition.
“That is my strong view, whatever the position on recognition, and we need to be really clear, this isn’t a conditional issue.
“Obviously we will assess in September where we’ve got to on the issues that matter most on recognition. But in calling out Hamas from the very get go, I’ve been very clear in my mind on Hamas. No part, no part in any future government.”
The PM also said there was a “sense of revulsion” about the suffering in Gaza adding:”We have to do all that we can to alleviate the awful situation, situation on the ground in Gaza. We need aid in volume and at scale. You could see the images of starvation.
“The British public can see it and there’s a sense of revulsion of what they’re seeing.
“And they want this government quite rightly to do everything we can to include, to do as much to get aid in working with other countries as we can. And it’s in that context that I set out our position on recognition.”
Jewish News understands that part of the reason for the government’s decision to announce the move towards recognition last week was revulsion amongt traditional so called “middle England” voters to the scenes in Gaza.
One party source said:”Our in-boxes were bulging like never before. Not from the pro-Palestine campaigners, but from Mr and Mrs Ordinary – and they were asked why the Labour Party, of all parties, were not acting over Gaza.”
Demonstrators, led by the major communal organisations, including some British family members of hostages still held by Hamas, will march on Downing Street calling for the release of the remaining hostages before any talk about the recognition of Palestine on Sunday.
While the demo has received considerable backing within the community, Jewish News understands some in the Progressive and Masorti Judaism synagogues have questioned the decision of their rabbinical leaders to take part in the protest.
Some say they are supportive of recogntion, as the first move towards a two state solution, and the end of the deadly war.
Others have questioned why Sunday’s demo will not include criticism of the Israeli government’s stance on the Gaza and the hostages, especially with a likely reoccupatiion of the region, with threatens to cause further bloodshed.
Herut UK – the sister organisation of the Likud party in Israel – have now had their name removed from adverts promoting Sunday’s demo, which is backed by the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, the United Synagogue and the Union of Jewish Students, amongst other groups.
Ghazi Hamad, a senior member of Hamas, said last weekend that the flurry of major nations planning to recognise a Palestinian state vindicated the group’s terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamad told Al Jazeera: “The fruits of October 7 are what caused the entire world to open its eyes to the Palestinian issue — and they are moving toward it with force. That is, that the Palestinian people are a people who deserve a country.
But critics pointed out that the Hamas leadership has repeatedly rejected a two-state solution.
Hamas also appeared to forget that over 140 countries had previously recognised a Palestinian State in the interview.
Earlier on Wednesday Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had said the threat of Gaza being reoccupied was also “one of the reasons” the government had moved towards recognition at the UN general assembly meeting in September. Nandy: Gaza takeover plan one of the reasons government moved on Palestine recognition
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