Starmer to announce UK’s formal recognition of Palestinian state today: Report

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce the country’s recognition of the Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday. The news of Starmer’s upcoming announcement came after the British Prime Minister said in July that the UK would shift its position in September unless Israel met conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and committing to a long-term sustainable peace deal that delivers a two-state solution.

This would mark a significant shift in British politics, as past governments have consistently stated that recognition should be part of a peace process, particularly at a time of maximum impact. However, Starmer’s upcoming move is also drawing fierce criticism from the Israeli government, families of hostages still held captive in Gaza, and Conservatives in the UK.

In a run-up to Starmer’s upcoming proclamation, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said such a move “rewards terror”. However, British ministers supporting Starmer’s views argue that there was a moral responsibility to act to keep the hope of a long-term peace deal alive.

Starmer to announce the move on Sunday

Meanwhile, a government source told the BBC that the situation on the ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks, prompting this move from Starmer. They cited images showing starvation and violence in Gaza, which the prime minister has previously described as “intolerable”.

It is important to note that Israel’s latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as “cataclysmic”, has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee. Ministers within the Starmer administration also emphasised that the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, was a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, BBC reported.

UK Justice Secretary David Lammy, who was Foreign Secretary back in July, cited the E1 settlement project, which critics warn would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

“The recognition of a Palestinian state is as a consequence of the serious expansion that we’re seeing in the West Bank, the settler violence that we’re seeing in the West Bank, and the intention and indications that we’re seeing to build for example the E1 development that would run a coach and horses through the possibility of a two-state solution,” he said.

Mixed responses

Ahead of Starmer’s announcement, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK’s recognition pledge during his visit to the country earlier this month. According to the Downing Street sources, during their meeting, both leaders agreed that Hamas had no role in the future governance of Palestine.

Meanwhile, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said she wanted to see a two-state solution in the Middle East. However, she changed her stance while writing for The Telegraph over the weekend. “It is obvious, and the US has been clear on this, that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time and without the release of the hostages would be a reward for terrorism,” she wrote in an op-ed to the British newspaper.

Starmer had already set a deadline of the UN General Assembly meeting, which takes place this week, for Israel to take “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”.

“I’ve always said 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. With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act,” he told reporters in July.

It is important to note that several nations, including Portugal, France, Canada and Australia, have said that after the start of the war, they will recognise a Palestinian state, while Spain, Ireland and Norway took the step last year.