Keir Starmer today confirmed Britain will ignore fury from the US and Israel to recognise a Palestinian state – despite his deputy admitting the move was little more than empty virtue-signalling that will do nothing to help people in Gaza.
The Prime Minister this afternoon said that the UK would press on with its symbolic gesture because of the ‘growing horror’ of the Israeli offensive in the occupied enclave and the Netanyahu government’s failure to agree to a ceasefire.
In a video posted on social media he said the move was intended ‘to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis’ in a two-state system, and includes fresh sanctions against Hamas leaders. But the move, to be formally ratified at the UN General Assembly next week, has led to a torrent of criticism from those who say it rewards Hamas for its terrorism against Israel which triggered the bloody conflict.
Sir Keir has also been warned that it will harm the UK’s standing in the world and the PM was accused of pandering to his restive leftwing backbenchers today, after David Lammy admitted there was style but no substance to the move.
Lammy Admits Empty Gesture
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the incendiary move was about giving the Palestinian people ‘hope’. But he admitted that it would do nothing to end the fighting or feed tens of thousands of people in the grip of famine as the Israelis continue their bloody assault.
Speaking on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Lammy conceded: “Will this feed children? No it won’t, that’s down to humanitarian aid. Will this free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire.”
Despite this admission of impotence, he said the Palestinian Authority had been calling for the ‘dream’ move for some time ‘and I think a lot of that is wrapped up in hope.’ He claimed recognition could not wait for the ‘perfect conditions’ and was an attempt to ‘hold out for’ a two-state solution.
In an earlier appearance on Sky News, he blamed the Netanyahu government for forcing the UK’s hand, saying hopes for a Gaza ceasefire and an end to illegal settlements in the West Bank – the UK’s price for not recognising Palestine – were further away than they were before.
International Coordination and Condemnation
In a coordinated move, Canada and Australia also moved to recognise Palestine today with statements by PMs Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese. France and Portugal are also expected to follow suit.
A spokeswoman for Israeli PM Netanyahu today said it remained committed to achieving its war goals and said the UK decision was ‘absurd and simply a reward for terrorism’. She said that Mr Netanyahu’s message to those recognising Palestine was: ‘The people of Israel aren’t going to commit suicide because of the political needs of European politics.
During his state visit to the UK, Donald Trump said he has ‘a disagreement with the Prime Minister’ about recognition. The US Government separately warned that the move will have ‘disastrous consequences’.
Hostage Families’ Fury
Mandy Damari, who met Sir Keir repeatedly while she campaigned to free her British-Israeli daughter Emily, who was held by Hamas for 471 days, accused him of being ‘under a two-state delusion’.
Even if he thinks he is right, he is rewarding Hamas for the October 7 barbaric and savage attack on Israel when the hostages are still not back, the war is not over and Hamas are still in power in Gaza,’ she said.
A group of families of hostages taken in the October 7 attack warned that recognition could hamper efforts to release them, and claimed Hamas would be ‘celebrating’. In an open letter to Sir Keir, they said: ‘Your regrettable announcement of the UK’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly has dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones. Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal.’
Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a Hamas video last month, said: ‘Giving this recognition is like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’ This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.’
Political Backlash
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said it was ‘disastrous’, adding: ‘It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war. It is because Labour cannot fix the big problems in our society that they focus on discredited student union campaigns to appease the hard left.’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: ‘Hamas and a Palestinian state are inseparable for now. This is typical of Starmer, he can’t really decide where he stands. Whatever the caveats in his statement, this announcement is a surrender to terrorism and a betrayal of Israel.
Labour Friends of Israel said it ‘will change nothing on the ground and it gives up an important diplomatic lever that can only be pulled once. A spokeswoman said: ‘We remain deeply concerned that this decision fails to address the barriers to peace posed by the Iranian regime and the need for radical reform of the Palestinian Authority.’
There are also fears it would impact Britain’s intelligence-sharing relationship with Israel.
£2 Trillion Reparations Threat
Legal experts have warned that recognition could also be a costly decision – because the new country would ask for eye-watering damages in compensation for land ‘taken from the Palestinian people’ when Britain relinquished control of the region after the Second World War.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has a long history of threatening to sue Britain, is demanding ‘reparations in accordance with international law’ based on the value of the land which was under British rule between 1917 and 1948. Some international law experts have described £2trillion, roughly the size of Britain’s total economy, as a ‘good place to start.
The campaign group called Britain Owes Palestine has demanded an apology from Britain for ‘war crimes‘ in the region.
The senior Palestinian diplomat in the UK said recognition would correct a colonial-era wrong dating back to the Balfour Declaration supporting the creation of a Jewish state in 1917. Head of mission Husam Zomlot told the BBC ‘the hands of British history’ were on the whole conflict and the UK should ‘celebrate a day when history is being corrected, when wrongs are being righted.
Starmer’s Defence
In an effort to counter criticism, Sir Keir said Hamas was a ‘brutal terror organisation’ and confirmed plans to ratchet up sanctions on the group. ‘Our call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision,’ he said.
But with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalating and Israel pushing ahead with settlements in the West Bank, Sir Keir said ‘the hope of a two-state solution is fading’ but ‘we cannot let that light go out’.
He said: ‘Today, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clear as Prime Minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine. We recognised the State of Israel more than 75 years ago as a homeland for the Jewish people. Today we join over 150 countries who recognise a Palestinian state also. A pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future.’
Sir Keir said in July he would recognise Palestine ahead of the gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly this week if the situation did not improve.
Empty Virtue-Signalling
The admission by Lammy that recognition will neither feed children nor free hostages has crystallised criticism that this is empty virtue-signalling designed to appease Labour’s restive left wing rather than meaningful foreign policy. By pressing ahead despite acknowledging it will achieve nothing practical whilst ignoring warnings from the US and Israel, Starmer appears to have prioritised domestic political considerations over international relationships and the actual welfare of those suffering in Gaza.
As hostage families plead for their loved ones’ return and Palestinians continue to suffer under bombardment, Britain’s recognition emerges as precisely what its critics claim – a symbolic gesture that satisfies political constituencies whilst solving nothing and potentially complicating genuine peace efforts.
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