Keir Starmer told the Commons that the Gaza peace deal offers ‘the first real chance we’ve had on a two-state solution since the Oslo Accords over three decades ago’
Keir Starmer has said the Gaza peace deal offers the best chance of a two-state solution in decades as he urged all sides to seize the chance to close a “terrible chapter in history”.
The Prime Minister told MPs that hostage families and civilians in Gaza had endured “two years of living hell” and rebuilding the war-torn territory would be a monumental effort. But he said the fragile peace in the Middle East was a moment of “profound relief” for the world.
Mr Starmer said the UK’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state had helped to build peace, after facing criticism for taking the step in September at the UN while hostages were still held by Hamas.
And he said the peace deal offers “the first real chance we’ve had on a two-state solution since the Oslo Accords over three decades ago”. It came as he addressed MPs after returning from the signing of the peace deal in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday, at a summit co-hosted by Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Speaking in the Commons, he said: “We have the chance, and it is a chance, to bring a terrible chapter in history, finally, to a close. It’s a moment of profound relief for this House, for this nation, indeed for the whole world.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer says Gaza peace plan ‘historic day’ – but warns against ‘missteps’
“But it is tempered, of course, by the knowledge that for the hostages and their families, for the loved ones of those killed on October 7, and for the innocent civilians in Gaza, the dead, the bereaved, the starving, this has been two years of living hell.”
He went on: “While we celebrate the relief of peace today, making that peace last will be no less difficult, a task, along with our allies, an absolute focus in the days and weeks ahead is the relentless implementation of this peace plan. That is no small challenge, and so we stand ready to deploy our diplomacy and expertise in three key areas.”
Mr Starmer stressed that credit for the peace deal signed on Monday belonged to Mr Trump, adding: “This is his deal.” But he said the UK had been working for months to secure a ceasefire, get the hostages out and get aid into Gaza.
He said: “That does include our decision to recognise the state of Palestine. Because this move, taken alongside our allies France, Canada, Australia and others, helped lead to the historic New York declaration, where for the first time the entire Arab League condemned the atrocities of October 7, urged Hamas to disarm and, crucially, demanded that they end their rule in Gaza.”
Mr Starmer also said a two-state solution was within reach. He told MPs: “This is the first real chance we’ve had on a two-state solution since the Oslo Accords over three decades ago. So we are fully committed to this because a safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable Palestinian state, is the only way to secure lasting peace for the Middle East.”
The UK will support the reconstruction of Gaza, which he described as “an immense task”. The PM added: “The devastation defies description, and it will require a truly international effort, but we are ready to play our part, starting with a conference here in the United Kingdom this week.”
Aid must urgently be allowed to enter Gaza to ease dire humanitarian conditions, he said. The UK will also support transitional governance arrangements and help to ensure the implementation of a process to monitor the ceasefire.
Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, whose Palestinian family escaped from Gaza, said she has found it “impossible” to be happy following the ceasefire. She said: “I want to feel happy this week, but I find it impossible, because with so much destruction and so much devastation and so many lives lost, you look back over the last two years and you ask the question, ‘what on earth was it all for?’
“But history teaches us that from the depths of that despair can often launch a positive future, and there is only one way to achieve the everlasting peace that President Trump so rightly talks about, and that is that two-state solution, Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in dignity and security.”
She urged the PM to make a Palestinian state a reality, saying it was a “promise made to my great-grandfather finally made good”.
He replied: “I give my personal commitment that we will work tirelessly to ensure that this time we build on the signing of the agreement yesterday, through all the work that’s going to have to be done along the way, until we get to that final, lasting solution, which will have to be a two-state solution.”
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