PM says Israel must take major steps in coming weeks or the UK will make its move ahead of UN General Assembly in September.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told his cabinet that the United Kingdom will recognise the state of Palestine by September unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end its war on Gaza and commits to a lasting peace process.
According to a government statement issued after an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said the move could come before the United Nations General Assembly in New York unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, halts plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, and supports a political path towards a two-state solution.
“[Starmer] reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain, that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm,” the statement added.
Starmer interrupted ministers’ summer holidays to discuss a draft European-led peace initiative and plans to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the UN has warned of looming famine.
While past UK governments have supported Palestinian statehood “when the time is right”, none has publicly tied it to a specific deadline or laid out preconditions so explicitly.
Israel criticised the UK following the announcement, calling it a “reward for Hamas” that would only undermine diplomatic efforts to end the war on Gaza.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has denied having any talks with Starmer about Britain’s recognition plans.
“We never did discuss it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, said the country’s formal recognition of Palestine would hold “particular historical and moral weight”.
“It represents a meaningful step in addressing the deep injustice rooted in the colonial-era Balfour Declaration and the decades of systematic denial of Palestinian rights that followed,” he wrote on X, referring to Britain’s 1917 declaration endorsing the establishment of a Jewish homeland that helped pave the way to the state of Israel.
Zomlot wrote that recognition of Palestine must be part of a broader process rooted in justice and international law.
‘The right time’
“It is not a stand-alone solution and must be accompanied by the full and equal application of international law, beginning with an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza, followed by reconstruction and full accountability for the war crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” he added.
The proposal, backed by a growing number of MPs within Starmer’s own Labour Party, would mark a major shift in the UK’s position, as successive governments have long delayed recognition, citing the need for “the right time”.
“This is intended to further that cause,” he said. “It’s done now because I’m particularly concerned that the idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many years.”
He added that recognition of Palestine would be part of an eight-point peace plan the UK has been developing with European partners. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said France would formally recognise Palestine as a state, becoming the largest and most influential European nation to do so. European Union members Norway, Spain and the Republic of Ireland have previously said they recognise the State of Palestine.
Labour MP Sarah Champion, who organised the letter to Starmer, said there will never be a perfect moment to recognise Palestinian statehood, but warned this might be the last chance.
“What we do have, however, is the perfect storm to prevent a two-state solution ever happening,” she said. “It is now or never if we believe in Palestinians’ right to recognition.”
media’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said leaders including Starmer and Macron continue to support Israel in its war on Gaza.
“We need to see some measures being taken other than just lofty rhetoric, because they are in no position to be talking about peace and justice when they are accomplices in genocide,” he said.
Bishara also criticised the lack of specifics from the two leaders when they announced their plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
“Is it a state in 10 percent of the West Bank? Or is it a state on all territories occupied in 1967 – including East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza – as contiguous sovereign territories?” he asked.
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