Starmer should announce the recognition of the United Kingdom of the Palestinian State

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the recognition by the United Kingdom of a Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

This decision comes after the Prime Minister said in July that the United Kingdom would modify its position in September unless Israel meets conditions, in particular by accepting a cease-fire in Gaza and engaging in a long-term sustainable peace agreement which offers a two-state solution.

It represents a major change in British foreign policy after successive governments have declared that recognition should be part of a peace process and at a time of maximum impact.

This decision aroused fierce criticism of the Israeli government, hostage families and certain conservatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously declared that such a decision “rewards terror”.

However, British ministers argue that there was a moral responsibility to act to keep hope for a long -term peace agreement.

Government sources have said that the situation on the ground had worsened considerably in recent weeks. They cited images showing famine and violence in Gaza, which the Prime Minister previously described as “intolerable”.

Israel’s latest floor operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as a “cataclysmic”, forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Earlier this week, a commission of the United Nations inquiry concluded that Israel had committed a genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, that Israel denounced “distorted and false”.

The ministers also underlined the continuous expansion of the Israeli colonies in occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognize the Palestinian State.

The Secretary of Justice, David Lammy, who was secretary of foreign affairs in July, when the path of recognition was announced, cited the controversial project of regulation E1 that the criticisms would end the hopes of a viable and continuous Palestinian state.

He said: “The recognition of a Palestinian state is therefore the serious expansion that we see in the West Bank, the violence of the colonists we see in the West Bank, and the intention and the indications that we see to build for example the E1 development which would lead a coach and horses by the possibility of a two -state solution.”

The president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmoud Abbas, praised the commitment to recognition of the United Kingdom when he visited Sir Keir earlier this month, with Downing Street saying that the two leaders had agreed that Hamas had no role in the future governance of Palestine.

Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to see a two-state solution in the Middle East.

But to write in the telegraph during the weekend, she said: “It is obvious, and the United States has been clear about it, that the recognition of a Palestinian state at present and without the release of hostages, would be a reward for terrorism.”

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Sir Keir on Saturday, family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas urged the Prime Minister not to make the measure that the other 48, of which 20 would still be alive, would have been returned.

The announcement of future recognition has “radically complicated efforts to bring our loved ones home,” they wrote. “Hamas has already celebrated the United Kingdom’s decision as a victory and has denied a cease-fire contract.”

Government sources have said that ministers will offer the next steps to sanction Hamas in the coming weeks.

During a state visit to the United Kingdom this week, US President Donald Trump also said he was disagreeing with recognition.

Sir Keir had set a deadline for the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place this week, so that Israel takes “substantial measures to put an end to the appalling situation in Gaza, accepts a cease-fire and engage in long-term lasting peace, revived on the prospect of a two-state solution.”

Speaking in July, he said: “I have always said that we will recognize a Palestinian state as a contribution to an appropriate peace process, at the time of a maximum impact for the two -state solution.

“With this solution now threatened, it’s time to act.”

A number of other countries, including Portugal, France, Canada and Australia, have also said that they would recognize a Palestinian state, while Spain, Ireland and Norway took the step last year.

Palestine is currently recognized by around 75% of the 193 UN member states, but has no internationally agreed borders, no capital and no recognition of the army, largely symbolic.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as the capital. Israel is currently occupying the West Bank and Gaza, which means that the Palestinian authority does not fully control its land or its people.

Recognizing a Palestinian state has long been a cause defended by many within the Labor Party. The PM has undergone increasing pressure to adopt a more difficult position on Israel, in particular deputies to the left of its party.

Shortly before he delivered his speech in July, more than half of the Labor deputies signed a letter calling on the government to immediately recognize a Palestinian state.

However, criticisms asked why the government seemed to put conditions on Israel but not on Hamas, when it explained its path to recognition.

The chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called on the government to suspend its decision.

“The planned recognition does not depend on a Palestinian Functional or Democratic Government, or even on the most fundamental commitment to a peaceful future,” he said.

“Surprisingly, it is not even conditional for the release of the 48 hostages that remain in captivity.”

Government sources have insisted that their requests so that Hamas discloses the hostages and accepts a cease-fire had not changed.

But officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued that the State was a right of the Palestinian people and could not depend on Hamas, which the government considers a terrorist organization.

Speaking Thursday when he welcomed President Trump at Checkers, Sir Keir reiterated that Hamas could play “no role” in any future Palestinian state.

The Israeli army launched its Gaza campaign in response to the unprecedented attack led by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 64,964 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas Ministry of Hamas in the territory.