Keir Starmer has faced intense pressure on the global stage and domestically over the last few weeks to shift the government’s stance on recognising a Palestinian state
Keir Starmer has faced intense pressure over the last few weeks to shift the government’s stance on recognising a Palestinian state.
On the global stage, the Prime Minister was not the first G7 leader to act. The French President Emmanuel Macron announced his intention on Thursday to recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September. Of the 193 member UN states, 147 currently recognise Palestine, including Norway and Spain.
Domestically, pressure was ratcheting up over Gaza. The Foreign Affairs Committee – led by the senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry – said Britain must do more to stop the slaughter and starvation. A furious Bob Geldof issued a desperate plea on Sky News to save babies in Gaza.
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Then over 200 MPs from across the Commons – including over 100 Labour MPs – urged him to recognise Palestine in a letter that landed on the PM’s desk on Friday. The signatures continued to grow as experts warned famine was unfolding in Gaza.
There were also calls from within the Cabinet for the UK to follow its close ally France amid global horror from the scenes being broadcast. After convening an emergency Cabinet during the summer recess on Tuesday, the PM made clear he had lost patience with an ultimatum given to Israel. “We see starving babies, children too weak to stand — images that will stay with us for a lifetime,” Mr Starmer said from the state dining room in Downing Street.
He said it was now the “moment to act” with the UK prepared to recognise Palestine in September alongside France at the UN General Assembly in New York. The PM set out key conditions for this to happen, including Israel ending the “appalling situation” in Gaza, agreeing to a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
Earlier in the day he called the leaders of Jordan, Canada, and the Palestinian Authority. He also spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and urged “immediate action to lift all restrictions on aid access and get those suffering in Gaza the food they need” No10 said.
But Mr Starmer’s announcement last night on Palestine was met with a furious response. Hours later Netanyahu posted on X: “Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims. Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails.”
But it appeared Mr Starmer had been given the green-light by Donald Trump over the move during a meeting at the US President’s golf course in Scotland. “I don’t mind him taking a position,” Mr Trump had said on Monday.
Given Israel’s opposition it appears the UK’s recognition of the state of Palestine will happen in September. And a majority of MPs are likely to be behind it. Senior Labour Dame Emily welcomed the “major change in British foreign policy”.
But other MPs will continue to demand the government goes much further. The Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Daveysaid the UK’s actions must include “fully ceasing arms sales and implementing sanctions against the Israeli cabinet.”
The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn added: “Palestinian statehood is not a bargaining chip. It is not a threat. It is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people. Our demands on this shameful government remain the same: end all arms sales to Israel, impose widespread sanctions, and stop the genocide, now.”
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