{"id":121829,"date":"2025-09-22T06:08:37","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T06:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/09\/22\/uk-formally-recognises-palestinian-state\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T06:08:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T06:08:37","slug":"uk-formally-recognises-palestinian-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/uk-formally-recognises-palestinian-state\/","title":{"rendered":"UK formally recognises Palestinian state"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK\u2019s recognition of a Palestinian state, in what represents a significant change in government policy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a video statement on X, the prime minister said: \u201cIn the face of the growing horror in the Middle East we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia, Canada and Portugal also announced formal recognition of the state of Palestine, with France expected to follow.<\/p>\n

The decision has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government, families of hostages held in Gaza and some Conservatives. Responding on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a Palestinian state \u201cwill not happen\u201d.<\/p>\n

Saying he had \u201ca clear message\u201d to the leaders who had declared recognition, he added: \u201cYou are giving a huge reward to terrorism\u201d.<\/p>\n

Both the Israeli and US governments say recognition is a diplomatic gift for Hamas following its attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir insisted the decision \u201cis not a reward for Hamas\u201d because it means Hamas can have \u201cno future, no role in government, no role in security\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of [Hamas\u2019s] hateful vision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The move is a \u201cpledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future\u201d, he continued, adding the \u201cstarvation and devastation [in Gaza] are utterly intolerable\u201d and the \u201cdeath and destruction horrifies all of us\u201d.<\/p>\n

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the decision, which Sir Keir had confirmed in a letter to the leader,, external saying it would help pave the way for the \u201cstate of Palestine to live side by side with the state of Israel in security, peace and good neighbourliness\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Foreign Office said it means the UK \u201crecognises Palestinian statehood over provisional borders, based on 1967 lines with equal land swaps, to be finalised as part of future negotiations\u201d.<\/p>\n

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, broadly along the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.<\/p>\n

A state of Palestine is currently recognised by around 75% of the UN\u2019s 193 member states, but has no internationally agreed boundaries, capital or army \u2013 making recognition largely symbolic.<\/p>\n

Due to Israel\u2019s military occupation in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority, set up in the wake of peace agreements in the 1990s, is not in full control of its land or people. In Gaza, where Israel is also the occupying power, Hamas has been the sole ruler since 2007.<\/p>\n

Announcing Canada\u2019s recognition on Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney offered \u201cpartnership in building the promise of a peaceful future\u201d for both Palestine and Israel, while Australia\u2019s Anthony Albanese said it was \u201cpart of a co-ordinated effort to build new momentum for a two-state solution\u201d.<\/p>\n

Portugal\u2019s Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel called the two-state solution \u201cthe only path to a just and lasting peace\u201d.<\/p>\n

In July, Sir Keir set a deadline of the UN General Assembly meeting,<\/a> which takes place next week, for the UK to announce recognition unless Israel took \u201csubstantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution\u201d.<\/p>\n

Efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza \u2013 let alone a long-term solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict \u2013 have faltered. Israel sparked international outrage when it recently carried out an air strike on a Hamas negotiating team in Qatar.<\/p>\n

Government sources said the situation on the ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks, citing images showing starvation and violence in Gaza that Sir Keir previously described as \u201cintolerable\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said 71 people were killed and 304 injured in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as \u201ccataclysmic\u201d, has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.<\/p>\n

It is the latest Israeli offensive in the nearly two-year war which has seen much of the Palestinian territory\u2019s population displaced, its infrastructure destroyed, and at least 65,208 people killed, according to the Gaza health ministry.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, a UN commission of inquiry concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denounced as \u201cdistorted and false\u201d.<\/p>\n

UK ministers have also highlighted the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.<\/p>\n

Mohammed Jarrar, mayor of the West Bank city of Jenin, told the BBC that \u201cthis Israeli government wants to annex the West Bank\u201d \u2013 but stressed that recognition was important as \u201cit confirms the fact that the Palestinian people possess a state, even if it is under occupation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu repeated his intentions on Sunday, saying \u201cwe doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and we will continue on this path\u201d.<\/p>\n

Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the news by calling for Israel to annex the West Bank and dismantle the Palestinian Authority.<\/p>\n

UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammyacknowledged recognition would not necessarily change reality on the ground, but said \u201cnow is the time to stand up for a two-state solution\u201d.<\/p>\n

He told BBC One\u2019s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: \u201cWill this feed children? No, it won\u2019t. That\u2019s down to humanitarian aid. Will it free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Authority\u2019s UK representative, told the BBC that recognition was an \u201cinalienable right\u201d that would mean \u201cending the denial of our existence\u201d and that \u201cthe British people should celebrate today, when history is being corrected\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is never why should the UK recognise the state of Palestine,\u201d he said, \u201cthe question is why didn\u2019t the UK recognise the state of Palestine all along?\u201d<\/p>\n

Reacting to UK recognition, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the move \u201cabsolutely disastrous\u201d, adding: \u201cRewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused the prime minister of \u201ccapitulating to the hard-left factions of his party\u201d.<\/p>\n

But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey welcomed the decision, which he said was \u201clong overdue\u201d.<\/p>\n

Recognition has long been a cause championed by many within Labour. The PM has been under mounting pressure to take a tougher stance on Israel, particularly from MPs on the left of his party.<\/p>\n

Mandy Damari, mother of former UK-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, said Sir Keir was \u201cunder a two-state delusion\u201d. Recognition rewarded Hamas while hostages were still in Gaza and the group still in power, she said.<\/p>\n

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, which represents relatives of captives with British ties, condemned the decision, calling it a \u201cbetrayal of humanity and a move that rewards Hamas while 48 hostages remain in captivity\u201d. Of the hostages still being held, around 20 are still thought to be alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of confronting Hamas, Britain has emboldened it,\u201d the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Asked about these concerns, Lammy said he had been discussing the issue with relatives, adding: \u201cI think it\u2019s also right to say that there are many hostage families who are shocked and appalled that the prospects of a ceasefire have been set back just in the recent days.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added it was important to recognise that \u201cHamas is not the Palestinian people\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hamas on Sunday welcomed the recognition as an \u201cimportant step in affirming the right of our Palestinian people to their land and holy sites\u201d but said it must be accompanied by \u201cpractical measures\u201d that would lead to an \u201cimmediate end\u201d to the war.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir, who has repeatedly said Hamas can have no role in the future governance of a Palestinian state, said during his announcement that the UK had already proscribed and sanctioned Hamas and that he had directed work to sanction further Hamas figures in the coming weeks.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK\u2019s recognition of a Palestinian state, in what represents a significant change in government policy. In a video statement on X, the prime minister said: \u201cIn the face of the growing horror in the Middle East we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}