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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement inside No. 10 Downing Street in London, on July 29, the day the cabinet was recalled to discuss the situation in Gaza. (Toby Melville/Pool/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
By Billy Stockwell, Pierre Bairin and Michael Rios, CNN
(CNN) — 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.”
Starmer made the announcement one day after the UK leader said the British public are “revolted” by images of people starving in Gaza, speaking alongside US President Donald Trump in Scotland.
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.
Israel’s foreign ministry said the move harms efforts to implement a ceasefire in Gaza and release the remaining hostages held in the territory.
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.
During his address on Tuesday, Starmer also repeated his demands of Hamas, saying that the group must release all hostages immediately, disarm, sign up to a ceasefire and accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza.
“We will make an assessment in September on how far the parties have met these steps, but no one should have a veto over our decision,” Starmer said.
Starmer has been facing mounting pressure from within his Labour party to take a tougher line on Israel, made more acute after Macron’s recent announcement that France would recognize a Palestinian state in September, becoming the first G7 country to do so.
‘A step in the right direction’
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.”
Starmer explained that the UK’s decision was driven by the “intolerable situation in Gaza” – which he said is getting worse every day – as well as concern that the possibility of a two-state solution is reducing.
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.
“The reason we have announced this in the way we have in relation to the General Assembly in September is precisely because I want to ensure that this plays a part in changing the conditions on the ground, making sure that that aid gets in, making sure that there is hope of a two-state solution for the future,” Starmer told reporters.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy reiterated Starmer’s position on Tuesday, saying the UK would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel doesn’t end its military campaign in Gaza.
Speaking at the United Nations, Lammy called on Israel to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza and to commit to a sustainable peace based on a two-state solution.
He warned that the two-state solution was in peril and vowed that the UK would commit to protecting its viability. “There is no contradiction between support for Israel’s security and support for Palestinian statehood,” he said.
Spain, Ireland and Norway recognized Palestinian statehood last year, but other European nations have thus far proved stubbornly reluctant to formally recognize a Palestinian state.
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy, James Frater, Donald Judd, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Dalia Abdelwahab contributed to this report.
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