LONDON (Reuters) -Britain has said it will formally recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end suffering in Gaza and meets other conditions.
WHAT DID PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER SAY?
He said Britain would make the move at the United Nations General Assembly unless Israel agreed to certain conditions.
Those were:
– a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza
– substantive steps to allow more aid to enter the Gaza Strip
– a clear declaration there will be no annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank
– a commitment to a long-term peace process that delivers a “two-state solution” – a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel
Starmer said there was “no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain, that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm”.
WHY DID STARMER DO THIS?
Successive British governments have said they will formally recognise a Palestinian state when the time is right and when it will be most effective to support a two-state solution.
Until Tuesday, the government had said it was more focused on improving the situation on the ground for civilians stricken by the conflict than recognition.
But Starmer has become increasingly vocal over the starvation and devastation in Gaza, and has been under pressure to act from lawmakers in his Labour Party.
Britain hopes its move will have a practical impact on Israel’s behaviour, initially by increasing the flow of aid, but also by reviving the diplomatic push for a two-state solution.
WHAT WILL THIS MEAN IN PRACTICE?
The move carries great diplomatic and moral weight, even if it is mostly symbolic, according to Julie Norman, an associate professor at University College London specialising in Middle Eastern politics.
The most immediate impact may be an upgrading of diplomatic relations with the Palestinians, according to one British government official.
Britain currently hosts a “Palestinian mission” of officials in London, but the recognition of a Palestinian state means it may be allowed open a fully fledged embassy.
The official said Britain could eventually open an embassy in the West Bank, where the Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-government under Israeli military occupation. The PA seeks the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem for a future state. Hamas has refused to recognise Israel and the group’s 1988 founding charter calls for its destruction.
Vincent Fean, a former British consul general to Jerusalem, said recognition of Palestine as a state would result in the government having to review its relations with Israel. This, he said, could result in Britain banning products from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
“That would only be symbolic in that sense that those goods are a pinprick in the overall size of the Israeli economy,” he said.
What is currently unclear is the impact recognition would have on the close intelligence and security ties between Britain and Israel, including defence-related supply chains.
Israel’s response to Starmer’s announcement was immediate and furious. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it rewarded Hamas and punished the victims of their 2023 cross-border attack on Israel.
Asked about that criticism, British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander – designated by the government to respond to questions in a series of media interviews on Wednesday – said it was not the right way to characterise Britain’s plan. “This is not a reward for Hamas. Hamas is a vile terrorist organisation that has committed appalling atrocities. This is about the Palestinian people. It’s about those children that we see in Gaza who are starving to death,” Alexander told LBC radio.
HOW COULD THIS AFFECT US-UK RELATIONS?
Starmer has been building warm relations with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two leaders met in Scotland on Monday, but Trump said he and Starmer did not discuss Britain’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state during their meeting.
Trump had indicated he “didn’t mind” Starmer taking a position on Palestinian statehood, but on Tuesday as he flew back to the United States, Trump said that recognising a Palestinian state would reward Hamas.
WHO ELSE HAS RECOGNISED PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD?
Starmer’s announcement was welcomed by France, just days after President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his country’s intention to pursue recognition of a Palestinian state.
Last year, Ireland, Norway and Spain took that step, while making clear that their decisions did not diminish their belief in Israel’s fundamental right to exist in peace and security.
About 144 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise Palestine as a state, including most of the global south as well as Russia, China and India. But only a handful of the 27 European Union members do so, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.
The U.N. General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of a sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading the Palestinians’ observer status at the world body to “non-member state” from “entity”.
WHO COULD BE NEXT?
Starmer’s decision may put pressure on other major countries like Germany, Australia, Canada and Japan to take the same path.
Germany said on Friday it was not planning to recognise Palestinian statehood in the short term, while Italy has said recognition must occur simultaneously with the recognition of Israel by a new Palestinian state.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout, Catarina Demony and Sam Tabahriti; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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