Britain to recognize Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to Gaza ceasefire | CNN edition.cnn.com

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The UK says it will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.

“I have always said that we will recognize a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in press briefing after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

“I can confirm the UK will recognize the State of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless the Israeli government takes 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.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Starmer’s decision “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism.”

“A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW. Appeasement toward jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen,” Netanyahu said according to a post on X by his office on Tuesday.

Trump echoed some of Israel’s criticism and said he sees the UK’s decision as “rewarding Hamas,” adding that the US has no plans to follow suit. “Essentially, (Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are) saying the same thing, and that’s okay, but you know, doesn’t mean I have to agree,” Trump said.

France commended Starmer’s announcement on Tuesday, with the country’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot saying the UK “joins today in the momentum created by France for the recognition of the State of Palestine.”

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry also lauded the move, as did Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh, who said it demonstrates a “commitment to international law and legitimacy.”

Jordan expressed its “appreciation” for Starmer’s decision and said it was a “a step in the right direction toward materializing the two-state solution,” according to the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney welcomed the “intent” behind the decision but said that Palestinian statehood “must not be conditional and must be backed by sanctions against Israel if the violence continues.”

A UN-backed food security agency said on Tuesday that the “worst-case scenario of famine” is currently taking place in the Gaza Strip, with more than 20,000 children admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July.