The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada officially recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday, leading to a strong response from Israel, which dismissed the possibility.
This united decision by the three Commonwealth nations and their traditional ally status highlights rising disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the Israeli government’s moves to hinder the establishment of a Palestinian state, notably through the persistent growth of settlements in the West Bank.
Facing pressure within his own Labour Party to adopt a tougher stance on Israel due to the worsening situation in Gaza, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer explained that the U.K.’s decision aims “to rekindle hopes of peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.” He emphasized it was not an appeasement for Hamas, responsible for the October 7, 2023, attack that resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the abduction of 251 more.
“Today, to rejuvenate the prospects of peace and a two-state solution, I unequivocally declare as the prime minister of this esteemed nation that the United Kingdom officially acknowledges the state of Palestine,” Starmer articulated in a video statement. “We acknowledged the state of Israel over 75 years ago as a homeland for Jewish people. Today, we join more than 150 nations in recognizing a Palestinian state as well.”
In reaction to the actions of the three countries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that the creation of a Palestinian state “will not occur.”
The U.K.’s declaration was anticipated following Starmer’s July statement that the U.K. would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, permitted the United Nations to supply aid, and took additional actions toward a lasting peace.
More countries are expected to join the list recognizing a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly this week, including France, which like the U.K., is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
Palestinian and Israeli reactions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the three countries for proferring a “prize” to Hamas.
“It will not happen,” he said. “A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”
Netanyahu is set to give a speech to the General Assembly on Friday before heading to see U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House Monday week. Ahead of Sunday’s announcement, Trump said he disapproved of the U.K.’s anticipated move.
For the Palestinians, President Mahmoud Abbas stressed that Sunday’s moves constitute an important and necessary step toward achieving a just peace in accordance with international law.
As well as arguing that recognition is immoral, critics argue that it’s an empty gesture given that the Palestinian people are divided into two territories – the West Bank and the Gaza strip- and no recognized international capital.
Historical overlay
The U.K. and France have a historic role in the politics of the Middle East over the past 100 years, having carved up the region following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
As part of that carve-up, the U.K. became the governing power of what was then Palestine. It was also author of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which backed the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people.”
However, the second part of the declaration has been largely neglected over the decades. It noted “that nothing shall be done, nothing which may prejudice the civil and religious rights” of the Palestinian people.
“It’s significant for France and the U.K. to recognize Palestine because of the legacy of these two countries’ involvement in the Middle East,” said Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow for Middle East Security at London-based Royal United Services Institute. “But without the United States coming on board with the idea of a Palestine, I think very little will change on the ground.”
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian head of mission in the U.K., told the BBC that recognition would right a colonial-era wrong. “The issue today is ending the denial of our existence that started 108 years ago, in 1917,” he said. “And I think today, the British people should celebrate a day when history is being corrected, when wrongs are being righted, when recognition of the wrongs of the past are beginning to be corrected.”
Diplomatic shift
The U.K. has for decades supported an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, but insisted recognition must come as part of a peace plan to achieve a two-state solution.
However, the government has become increasingly worried that such a solution is becoming all but impossible – and not only because of the razing of Gaza and displacement of most of its population during nearly two years of conflict, which has seen more than 65,000 people killed in Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
Last week, independent experts commissioned by the U.N.’s Human Rights Council concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a charge that Israel rejected as “distorted and false.”
Also vexing the U.K. is Israel’s government has been aggressively expanding settlements in the West Bank, land Palestinians want for their future state. Much of the world regards Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, which is ostensibly run by the Palestinian Authority, as illegal.
“This move has symbolic and historic weight, makes clear the U.K.’s concerns about the survival of a two-state solution, and is intended to keep that goal relevant and alive,” said Olivia O’Sullivan, Director of the U.K. in the World Programme at the London-based think tank, Chatham House.
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Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
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