UK plans to recognise Palestine in September unless Israel halts Gaza war
Al Jazeera
PM says Israel must take major steps in coming weeks or the UK will make its move ahead of UNGA.
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.
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