U.Okay. to acknowledge Palestinian state if Israel would not comply with Gaza ceasefire : NPR

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a press release inside No. 10 Downing St. in London on Tuesday, the day the Cabinet was recalled to debate the state of affairs in Gaza.

Toby Melville/Pool Reuters/AP

conceal caption

toggle caption

Toby Melville/Pool Reuters/AP

The United Kingdom will acknowledge a Palestinian state by September until Israel commits to peace within the Gaza Strip, stopping the annexation of the West Bank and different measures, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated Tuesday.

This follows an announcement final week by French President Emmanuel Macron that France plans to acknowledge a Palestinian state in September on the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Starmer stated he has lengthy supported negotiations to ascertain a Palestinian state alongside Israel — often known as a two-state resolution — to assist resolve Israeli-Palestinian battle. But he stated that resolution is now beneath risk.

“So today, as part of this process towards peace, I can confirm the U.K. 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 said in an address on Tuesday.

Starmer additionally referred to as on Hamas — the militant and political group that runs Gaza — to launch the hostages it seized within the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel, which prompted a full-scale Israeli army invasion of Gaza. He stated Hamas ought to “sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.”

The announcement got here as worldwide alarm has grown over hunger and deaths within the Gaza Strip, after almost 22 months of warfare between Israel and Hamas within the territory. A United Nations-backed meals safety group on Tuesday warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine” is unfolding, because the variety of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces within the warfare topped 60,000, based on Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli authorities, which opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, criticized Britain’s transfer. “Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims. A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a statement on social media.

Starmer received applause from members of his Labour Party. But some members of the opposition Conservative Party stated the coverage put situations on Israel however not on Hamas. BBC worldwide editor Jeremy Bowen said it was a “big change in British foreign policy.”

More than 140 international locations, together with a number of in Europe, already acknowledge Palestinian statehood. The U.Okay. and France could be the most important Western powers and the primary members of the Group of Seven main economies to take action.

The U.Okay. announcement follows a gathering Monday between Starmer and President Trump in Scotland, the place the 2 mentioned the warfare in Gaza and mass hunger within the territory as prime points.

When requested whether or not Starmer ought to be part of France in recognizing a Palestinian state, Trump told reporters: “I’m not going to take a position. I don’t mind him [Starmer] taking a position. I’m looking for getting people fed right now.”

After French President Macron introduced his authorities would acknowledge Palestinian statehood, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on social media: “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda.” In a statement, the State Department stated strikes like France’s have been “counterproductive gestures” that undercut U.S. diplomatic efforts on the warfare in Gaza.