UK to recognise Palestinian state in Sept unless Israel takes action

Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and make clear there will be no annexation of West Bank

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LONDON - Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on July 29 that Britain was prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, in response to growing public anger over images of starving children in Gaza.

Mr Starmer spoke a day after talks in Scotland with US President Donald Trump, who said he did "not mind" if Britain recognised a Palestinian state, though Washington—Israel's closest ally—has long declined to do so.

Britain, if it acts, would become the second Western power on the UN Security Council to do so after France last week, reflecting Israel's deepening isolation over its conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, where a humanitarian disaster has set in and the Palestinian death toll has risen above 60,000.

Mr Starmer said Britain would make the move unless Israel took substantive steps to allow more aid to enter Gaza, made clear there will be no annexation of the West Bank and committed to a long-term peace process that delivers a "two-state solution"—a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel.

"The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering," Mr Starmer told reporters.

"Now, in Gaza, because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime. The suffering must end."

Mr Starmer held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before making his announcement, said a source, who asked not to be named.