The decision, announced alongside recognition by Canada and Australia, comes as Israel continues its deadly destruction in Gaza.
by Staff Reporter
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced the United Kingdom’s decision to formally recognise a Palestinian state more than 100 years after the Balfour Declaration backed “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”, and 77 years after the creation of Israel in the British Mandate of Palestine.
“In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and of a two-state solution,” Starmer said in a video statement Sunday.
The UK government said in July that it would shift its longstanding approach of holding off recognition until a supposed moment of maximum impact – unless Israel stops its genocidal war in Gaza, commits to a long-term sustainable peace process that delivers a two-state solution, and allows more aid into the enclave.
But the catastrophic situation in Gaza has only grown significantly more dire over the past few weeks, as the Israeli military continues to systematically destroy Gaza City to seize it, while continuing to starve and displace the famine-stricken population of the enclave.
Daily raids by Israeli soldiers and attacks by settlers are also ongoing across the occupied West Bank, with Israel advancing plans to annex the Palestinian territory and “bury” the idea of a contiguous Palestinian state with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.
The historic move comes as Canada, Australia, and Portugal also officially recognised Palestinian statehood two days before the start of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where Palestinian sovereignty after decades of occupation and apartheid by Israel will be in focus.
Starmer has pledged further action to sanction senior figures in the Hamas leadership in the coming weeks and stressed that the group would have no role in the future of Palestine.
He also underscored that the move to recognise a Palestinian state would not embolden Hamas, which he described as a “brutal terrorist organisation that wants to see Israel destroyed”.
“A call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision,” Starmer said.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “Today’s historic decision, taken alongside some of our closest allies, to recognise a Palestinian State, reflects our unwavering commitment to a two-state solution and affirms the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said on Sunday that recognising a Palestinian state would not bring one into existence “overnight”, underlining his government’s position that recognition must be part of a broader peace process, one that has been in a moribund state for decades.
“Any step to recognise it is because we wish to keep alive the prospects of a two-state solution,” Lammy told Sky News.
The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said on Sunday that the recognition of a Palestinian state would send an important message.
“Above all, it is a message of hope to the Palestinian people, a message of hope for a free, independent, sovereign state,” she told a news conference in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, adding that the move would also mean that “Israel has no sovereignty on the territories of our state”.
Aghabekian described Israel’s actions as “systematic assault on the very fabric of humanity, designed to erase the Palestinian people’s existence, culture and future”.
Layla Moran, the first representative of Palestinian descent to serve in the UK Parliament, told Al Jazeera that “a decades-long injustice has now been rectified”.
“This is a small step, the way we should see it is the beginning of a journey,” she said. “It is important that this translates now into changes on the ground.”
“It shouldn’t have taken us a genocide to get to this point,” Moran added.
Israeli officials call for West Bank annexation
In his first reaction to the recognition of Palestinian statehood, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “prize” for Hamas.
“And I have another message for you: It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel’s response to the moves would come after he returned to Israel from his visit to the United States, where he will travel this week.
Israeli far-right ministers reacted to the announcement by calling on Netanyahu to move forward with the annexation of the West Bank, which Israelis refer to as Judea and Samaria.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the recognition was a reward for Hamas and required immediate action. “I intend to submit a proposal at the upcoming cabinet meeting for the immediate application of Israeli sovereignty,” he said.
Minister of Negev and Galilee Affairs Yitzhak Wasserlauf, a member of Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, went a step further, saying “the Land of Israel belongs exclusively to the people of Israel – there is no Palestinian people and no Palestinian state”.
US President Donald Trump expressed his opposition to the recognition during a state visit to the UK last week and a meeting with Starmer, saying this matter was among their “few disagreements”.
On Monday, France and Saudi Arabia will jointly host a delayed one-day summit in New York City at the United Nations on advancing a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said Netanyahu was planning to meet Trump and other allies during his visit to the US and discuss possible reactions to the recognition, which may include closing embassies and consulates, among other diplomatic moves.
However, “the annexation of the West Bank has been the [Israeli] far right’s main objective since they came into power under Benjamin Netanyahu”, Salhut said, noting that the recognition may serve as a catalyst for that aim despite ongoing international pressure and condemnation.
