The UK says it will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, CNN reports.
“I have always said that we will recognize a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in press briefing after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
“I can confirm the UK will recognize the State of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless the Israeli government takes substantive 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.”
Starmer made the announcement one day after the UK leader said the British public are “revolted” by images of people starving in Gaza, speaking alongside US President Donald Trump in Scotland.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Starmer’s decision “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism.”
“A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW. Appeasement toward jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen,” Netanyahu said according to a post on X by his office on Tuesday.
Israel’s foreign ministry said the move harms efforts to implement a ceasefire in Gaza and release the remaining hostages held in the territory.
Trump echoed some of Israel’s criticism and said he sees the UK’s decision as “rewarding Hamas,” adding that the US has no plans to follow suit. “Essentially, (Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are) saying the same thing, and that’s okay, but you know, doesn’t mean I have to agree,” Trump said.
