Minister dismisses claims that recognising Palestinian state risks breaching international law

The Guardian

3 days ago

Update:
Date: 2025-07-31T07:50:32.000Z
Title: Matt Dathan, Ali Mitib
Content: Good morning. Keir Starmer has been widely criticised for his announcement on Monday that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees a ceasefire in Gaza and commits to the two-state solution (which Benjamin Netanyahu's government does not support). There have been two main objections. The Tories, and others, are mostly dismissing this as pointless, a gesture that will appease Labour MPs without having any practical, positive impact for Palestinians. The other line of attack argues that the move will have an impact, because it will reward Hamas for their attack on Israel, and incentivise them not to make peace or release the remaining hostages. This is what the Israeli government is saying, but the person who has made this argument most forcefully is Emily Damari, a British-Israeli woman held hostage by Hamas for more than a year. Her words have provided the Daily Mail with its splash.
Today the decision is under fire on a third front. According to a story by and Geraldine Scott on the Times front page, the move may be illegal. They say 40 members of the House of Lords have put this point to Lord Hermer, the attorney general, in a letter. They report:
Some of Britain's most prominent lawyers have warned Sir Keir Starmer that his government's pledge to recognise a Palestinian state risks breaking international law.
Their intervention, signed by 40 members of the House of Lords, said a Palestinian state would not meet the criteria for recognition as set out under the Montevideo Convention, a treaty signed in 1933 …
The signatories point out that Starmer's pledge risked undermining the government's commitment that international law goes 'absolutely to the heart' of its foreign policy.
Under the Montevideo Convention, to qualify for statehood under international law, a state must have a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. The peers argue that arguablely Palestine does not meet any of these four conditions.
According to the Times, the signatories include seven KCs, including Lord Pannick, Lord Collins of Mapesbury, a former supreme court judge, former Tory ministers including Eric Pickles and Andrew Lansley, and Arlene Foster, the former DUP leader.
Thursday's TIMES: Palestine vow breaks law, claim top lawyers#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/KLtGTW6NPE
Keir Starmer is speaking the media later today, but Gareth Thomas, the business minister, has been doing the interview round this morning and he told Times Radio that the government thinks recognising a Palestinian state would be compliant with international law. He explained:
We haven't signed up to the Montevideo Convention, but is there a clear population in in Palestine? Yes, there is in Gaza and the West Bank.
We have made clear that we think you would recognise the state of Palestine, and that state of Palestine would be based on the 1967 borders.
Of course, there would have to be land swaps and there would be a shared capital of Jerusalem. They are well-regarded international views.
As I say, 140 other countries have already recognised the state of Palestine. The prime minister was in talks this week with a series of countries, including Canada, and Canada have overnight, as you will have seen, taken the decision to recognise Palestine in September.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The Ministry of Justice publishes figures covering prison numbers, and assaults, deaths and self-harm in jails.
11am: Mourners attend the funeral of Norman Tebbit at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds.
Morning: Keir Starmer and Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, are on a visit in the south-west of England to promote plans to penalise firms that pay their suppliers late. They are due to give media interviews.
Also, at some point today, Heathrow Airport will submit its third runway plans to the government.
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