3 months ago
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LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday (Jul 29) that Britain is prepared to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September unless Israel takes a series of steps to improve conditions for Palestinians.
Britain would become the second Western power on the UN Security Council to make such a move, following France's decision last week. The announcement underscores Israel's deepening isolation over its conduct in the war in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis has taken hold and the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 60,000.
DEADLINE FOR ISRAEL TO ACT
Starmer said Britain would proceed with recognition unless Israel significantly increases aid access to Gaza, commits to no annexation of the West Bank, and engages in a long-term peace process aimed at delivering a two-state solution.
"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."
The prime minister added that his government would assess in September "how far the parties have met these steps", stressing that no country would have a veto over the decision.
CABINET RECALL AMID GAZA CRISIS
Starmer recalled his cabinet from summer break on Tuesday to discuss a new proposed peace plan with other European leaders and to consider ways to deliver more humanitarian aid to Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.
Successive British governments have said they would formally recognise a Palestinian state when the time was right, but without setting a timetable or specific conditions. With international aid agencies warning of widespread starvation in Gaza, pressure has been mounting within Starmer’s Labour Party to act.
SHIFT IN UK POLICY
Starmer’s position on Israel has hardened since he became prime minister just over a year ago. At the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, when he was opposition leader, he fully backed Israel's right to defend itself.
His government has since dropped the previous administration’s challenge to International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and suspended some weapons sales to Israel. Last month, Britain also sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians.
France’s decision last week to recognise Palestinian statehood in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war has further highlighted the growing divide between Israel and its traditional allies. Both Israel and the United States criticised France's move, calling it a reward for Hamas, the militant group whose Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the ongoing war.
