Banner day for Keir Starmer as Britain celebrates VE Day and agrees trade deal
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Dubai Eye
6 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
UK to recognise Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes action
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday Britain was prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly unless Israel takes a number of steps to improve life for Palestinians. Britain, if it acts, would become the second Western power on the UN Security Council to do so after France last week, reflecting Israel's deepening isolation over its conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, where a humanitarian disaster has set in and the Palestinian death toll has risen above 60,000. Starmer said Britain would make the move unless Israel took substantive steps to allow more aid to enter Gaza, made clear there will be no annexation of the West Bank and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a "two-state solution" - a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel. "The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering," Starmer told reporters. "Now, in Gaza, because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime. The suffering must end." Starmer said his government would make an assessment in September on "how far the parties have met these steps", but that no one would have a veto over the decision. He took the decision after recalling his cabinet during the summer holidays on Tuesday to discuss a new proposed peace plan being worked on with other European leaders and how to deliver more humanitarian aid for Gaza's 2.2 million people. Successive British governments have said they will formally recognise a Palestinian state when the time is right, without ever setting a timetable or specifying the necessary conditions. With warnings from international aid agencies that people in Gaza are facing starvation, a growing number of lawmakers in Starmer's Labour Party have been asking him to recognise a Palestinian state to raise pressure on Israel. The issue came to the fore after President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday France would recognise Palestine as a state in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel and staunch supporter the United States blasted France's move, branding it a reward for Palestinian group Hamas who ran Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered the current war. At the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, when Starmer was the opposition leader, he fully backed Israel's right to defend itself. But his stance has shifted over the years to a tougher approach to Israel, especially since his election as prime minister just over a year ago. His government dropped the previous government's challenge over arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and has suspended some weapon sales to Israel. Last month, Britain sanctioned two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians.
Middle East Eye
12 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Trump denies he gave UK green light to recognise Palestinian state
On his flight back to the US from Scotland on Tuesday, President Donald Trump denied that he gave UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer the green light to recognise a Palestinian state, multiple news outlets reported. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that acknowledging a Palestinian state would be 'rewarding Hamas'. "You're rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don't think they should be rewarded," he said. His comments are a U-turn from what he told Starmer during a meeting on Monday between Starmer and Trump in Aberdeen, and mirror the Israeli foreign ministry's earlier comments on Tuesday. The UK government said they are prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly in response to public anger over Israel using starvation as a weapon of war.
Gulf Today
13 hours ago
- Gulf Today
UK to recognise Palestinian state in September unless Israel acts
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various "substantive steps" in Gaza, including agreeing to a ceasefire. The potentially landmark move, part of a plan for "lasting peace" that Starmer is putting forward, came after the UK leader recalled his cabinet from recess for urgent talks on the worsening situation in the besieged territory. Starmer told his ministers London will formally recognise a Palestinian state in September if the Israeli government has not taken the steps demanded, his office said. They include ending "the appalling situation in Gaza", reaching a ceasefire, making "clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank", and committing "to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution," it added. "I have always said that we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution," Starmer later said in a Downing Street address. "With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act." Hamas demands French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly meeting in September. Starmer said "the UK will recognise 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". The two countries would be the first G7 nations to do so, with Macron's announcement last week drawing a strong rebuke from both Israel and the United States. However, Starmer is believed to have presented his plan for the long-running conflict in the Middle East to US President Donald Trump when the pair met in Scotland on Monday. Trump appeared to give his blessing for the recognition move, saying during a wide-ranging press conference lasting more than an hour that "I don't mind him (Starmer) taking a position." Speaking Tuesday, Starmer also detailed several demands for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is holding Israeli hostages seized in its attacks on October 7, 2023. "They must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza," he said. The UK leader added that London "will make an assessment in September on how far the parties have met these steps", adding: "No one should have a veto over our decision." 'Two-state solution' Starmer has been under growing domestic and international pressure to formally recognise a Palestinian state, as the humanitarian situation in Gaza dramatically worsens. Macron publicly pressed for joint recognition of Palestine during his UK state visit earlier this month, while an increasing number of MPs in Starmer's ruling Labour party have been demanding action. More than 220 British lawmakers from nine parties including Starmer's Labour published a letter last Friday urging him to formally recognise a Palestinian state. The commitment was included in Labour's election-winning manifesto last year, as part of "a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state". Starmer's office also said that the UK had dropped its first aid by air into the Gaza Strip, as UN aid agencies warned that the Palestinian territory of more than two million people was slipping into famine. It said "the first airdrops of British aid" were landing Tuesday, "containing around half a million pounds' worth of lifesaving supplies". "The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering now in Gaza because of a catastrophic failure of aid. We see starving babies, children too weak to stand," the UK leader said in a televised address. "The suffering must end," he added. Agence France-Presse
