The UK will formally recognise the state of Palestine this September as a result of the “increasingly intolerable” situation on the ground in Gaza, unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution for the Middle East.
Keir Starmer’s cabinet has agreed to support a roadmap for peace in the region after coming under intense domestic pressure over the mounting humanitarian crisis in the territory, and internal calls to follow France in acknowledging Palestinian statehood.
The prime minister recalled his cabinet from their summer break to approve the plan after he held talks with Donald Trump in Scotland on Monday. The US president said he did “not mind” the UK taking a position on the issue, even if he would not.
Starmer told ministers that because of the increasingly “intolerable situation” in Gaza and the diminishing prospect of a peace process towards the UK’s ambition of a two-state solution, now was the right time to move to this position.
He said the UK would recognise the state of Palestine in September, before the UN general assembly, unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process.
The prime minister reiterated that there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas, and said the militant group must release all the hostages, disarm, sign up to a ceasefire and accept it would play no role in the government of Gaza.
The UK roadmap follows an agreement to work on a plan for “lasting peace” in the region with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, at the weekend.
Downing Street had insisted that formal recognition of Palestinian statehood was a matter of “when, not if”, with the Labour government facing calls to take further action as UK public opinion hardened.
The Guardian revealed last week that Starmer was under pressure from cabinet ministers for the UK to immediately recognise Palestine as a state, as global outcry grew over Israel’s killing of starving civilians in Gaza.
Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, and Wes Streeting, the health secretary, are understood to be among ministers who believe the government should take the lead on the issue. (The Guardian)
