Starmer to confirm UK recognition of a Palestinian state on Sunday
Jewish News understands the PM will argue that the international community has a moral responsiblity to act now to keep two-state solution dream alive
Keir Starmer will confirm in a speech on Sunday that the UK government is recognising a Palestinian state, Jewish News understands.
The Prime Minister will argue that the international community has a moral responsibility to act in order to keep the prospect of a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel and Palestine existing side by side.
It is understood that the PM will acknowledge that while the hostages, cruelly ripped from their families on October 7th, have still not been released by Hamas, a UK assessment has now concluded that Israel has not adhered to conditions that the government set out in July, including a ceasefire in Gaza, an increase in humanitarian aid, and an end to settlement expansion.
He will again say that Hamas must release all hostages, agree to an immediate ceasefire, accept it will have no role in governing Gaza, and commit to disarmament.
Starmer is expected to repeat the words said in front of Donald Trump at Chequers last week, in which he described Hamas as a brutal terrorist organisation that wants to see Israel destroyed.
Jewish News also understands that the government is preparing to outline its next steps on sanctions against Hamas in due course.
Sunday’s speech is expected to prompt an angry response from some UK communal leaders, with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, and Labour Friends of Israel among those to have already strongly condemned the move.
Benjamin Netanyahu and several other ministers in the Israeli government have suggested recognition is a “reward” to Hamas after the October 7 massacre.
Jewish News also understands that a number of Labour MPs have also made their concerns known to No.10 about the move to recognition.
The announcement will be welcomed a those on the so-called soft-left, and those on the left-wing of the party, who have long called for Starmer to recognise a Palestinian state.
Defying his critics, Starmer will suggest the situation has in fact worsened since July, when he first made it clear the UK was considering recognition of a Palestinian state.
The PM will try to walk a diplomatic tightrope by forging ahead with the historic move, while dimming the spotlight on himself by declining to visit the U.N. General Assembly in person.
Deputy PM and former Foreign Secretary David Lammy will instead fly to New York with new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
But the PM believes the move to recognition does not diminish from the fact that at the heart of this conflict are the Palestinian and Israeli people, who deserve to see an end to the violence and to live in peace.
The PM is expected to stress that he believes the prospect of Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace with recognised borders is the exact opposite of the hateful vision adhered to by Hamas.
And that the international community has a moral responsibility to act in order to keep this hope of long-term peace alive.
The UK will formally commit to recognising a Palestinian state alongside nine other countries, including France, at this week’s UN meeting in New York.
The announcement that the UK, and nine other countries are recognising Palestine, will be confirmed at the UN on Monday.
A conference focused on Palestinian statehood has been convened by France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia, which will take place at the UN that day.
Jewish News understands the Head of Palestinian Mission to the U.K. Husam Zumlot is also due to oversee a flag-raising ceremony in London on Monday.
However, government sources indicate that once a country has stated it recognises another, no further process is actually required beyond that.
In his speech, Starmer is expected to stress that the Labour Party’s general election manifesto made it clear that he considered statehood to be the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.
But in a response to widespread criticism from UK communal leaders, and from the Israeli government over the plan to recognise Palestine, the PM will insist his government’s demands on Hamas remain resolute.
In a damning assessment of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, the PM is expected to once again describe the images of violence, starvation, and suffering as intolerable.
It is understood he will condemn Israel over the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. The hostages, cruelly ripped from their families on October 7th, have still not been released by Hamas.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian said on Saturday in advance of Britain’s move that it was “better late than never”, and said “Britain, with its weight, can influence other countries to come forward and recognise, because that is the right thing to do”.
Earlier this month Starmer met with Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, clashing with him over the plan to recognise Palestine.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to address UNGA by video after the US denied him a visa.
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