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UK to recognise Palestinian state in September unless Israel acts

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.The potentially landmark move, part of Starmer’s plan for a “lasting peace”, came after the British leader recalled his cabinet from recess for urgent talks on the worsening situation in the besieged territory.Starmer’s move, paired with Paris also saying it will recognise a Palestinian state in September, would make the two European allies the first G7 nations to do so.In a televised Downing Street address immediately after the cabinet meeting, Starmer said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state if Israel has not taken the steps demanded by the time the UN General Assembly is held in September.It must “end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect” of a two-state solution, he added. “I’ve always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution,” Starmer said. “With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, saying: “Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.””A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW. Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen,” he posted on the social media platform X.The UK leader also detailed several demands for militant group Hamas, which is holding Israeli hostages seized in its attacks on October 7, 2023.”They must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza,” he said.- ‘Hand of history’ -Israel’s foreign ministry also said it “rejects” the UK move, arguing it “constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza”.Starmer spoke to Netanyahu before the announcement, telling him “the situation in Gaza was intolerable,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said.”He urged the prime minister to take immediate action to lift all restrictions on aid access,” she added in a readout of the call.Starmer also talked to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who “welcomed” the recognition announcement, the spokeswoman noted.The UK move follows French President Emmanuel Macron announcing last week that Paris would recognise a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly meeting on September 23.Although more than 140 countries already recognise the State of Palestine, none of them carry the weight of Britain and France, who are nuclear-armed allies of Israel with permanent seats on the UN Security Council. On Tuesday, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot welcomed London joining “the momentum created by France” to “stop the endless cycle of violence”.Macron’s announcement drew a strong rebuke from both Israel and fellow G7 member the United States.Starmer said Tuesday his government “will make an assessment in September on how far the parties have met” the demands.But he insisted: “No one should have a veto over our decision.”Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy, attending a UN conference in New York led by France and Saudi Arabia to promote the two-state solution, echoed the sentiment.Lammy said it was “with the hand of history on our shoulders” that London planned to recognise Palestinian statehood, given Britain’s pivotal role in Israel’s creation through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.- ‘Suffering’ -Starmer has been under growing domestic and international pressure to formally recognise a Palestinian state. More than 220 British lawmakers from nine parties including Labour published a letter last Friday urging him to take the step.It was included in Labour’s election-winning manifesto last year, as part of “a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state”.But the pressure has risen as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has dramatically worsened.”The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering,” Starmer said in his TV address, adding it “must end”. His office said the UK had dropped its first aid, including “lifesaving supplies”, by air Tuesday into Gaza, with the help of Jordan.The UK leader thanked its king, Abdullah II, in a call.”However, they agreed that this could not be a substitute for truck deliveries by land, which are the only way to deliver the level of food and other aid urgently needed,” Starmer’s spokeswoman said.

Qatar, Saudi, Egypt join call for Hamas to disarm, give up Gaza rule

Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt joined calls Tuesday for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory.Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League threw their weight behind a seven-page text agreed at a United Nations conference on reviving the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. “In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” said the declaration.It followed a call Monday by the Palestinian delegation at the United Nations for both Israel and Hamas to leave Gaza, allowing the Palestinian Authority to administer the coastal territory.The text also condemned the deadly October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel, something the UN General Assembly has yet to do.France, which co-chaired the conference with Saudi Arabia, called the declaration “both historic and unprecedented.””For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn October 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from Palestinian governance, and clearly express their intention to normalize relations with Israel in the future,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.The text, co-signed by France, Britain and Canada among other western nations, also called for the possible deployment of foreign forces to stabilize Gaza after the end of hostilities.Israel and its ally the United States did not take part in the meeting.- 21 months of war -The document was issued at the second day of the conference in New York at which Britain announced it may recognize a Palestinian state in September.British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said London would proceed with recognition if Israel did not fulfil conditions including implementing a ceasefire in Gaza and allowing in sufficient aid.French President Emmanuel Macron last week said he would formally announce France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September.For decades, most of the global body’s members have supported a two-state solution with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side-by-side.But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could become geographically impossible.The current war in Gaza started after the Hamas attacks on Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were killed.Israel responded with large-scale military action that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives and destroyed most infrastructure in the enclave.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the meeting Monday “the two-state solution is farther than ever before.”In a statement issued late Tuesday, 15 Western nations including France and Spain, affirmed their “unwavering support to the vision of the two-state solution.”Among the signatories, nine that have not yet recognized a Palestinian state expressed “willingness or positive consideration of their countries” to do so: Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, and San Marino.

Gaza famine warning as Israel resists ceasefire calls

Gaza is slipping into famine, UN agencies warned on Tuesday, as the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the Palestinian death toll in the nearly 22-month war had topped 60,000.The World Food Programme, UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organisation warned that time was running out and that Gaza was “on the brink of a full-scale famine”.”We need to flood Gaza with large-scale food aid, immediately and without obstruction, and keep it flowing each and every day to prevent mass starvation,” WFP executive director Cindy McCain said in a joint statement from the agencies.  This week, Israel launched daily pauses in its military operations in some parts of Gaza and opened secure routes to enable UN agencies and other aid groups to distribute food in the densely populated territory of more than two million. However, Israeli strikes continued overnight, killing 30 people in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency — and experts warned a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions is imminent.”The worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip,” said the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a group of monitors who advise the United Nations on impending crises. The IPC stopped short of declaring a state of famine, but made clear the situation is critical.- Urgent action now -Britain, France and Germany could send their foreign ministers to Israel next week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, adding: “We assume that the Israeli government is willing to acknowledge that something must be done now.” In a statement released ahead of the IPC report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of distorting casualty figures and of looting food intended for civilians.”While the situation in Gaza is difficult and Israel has been working to ensure aid delivery, Hamas benefits from attempting to fuel the perception of a humanitarian crisis,” his office said.”We already allow significant amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza every single day, including food, water and medicine. Unfortunately, Hamas… has been stealing aid from the Gaza population, many times by shooting Palestinians.”Israel’s international isolation increased Tuesday, when Britain joined France in proposing to recognise a Palestinian state as early as September. “I have always said that we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.”With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.”Israel’s reaction was much like its response to a similar announcement last week by French President Emmanuel Macron. It “constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza”, the foreign ministry said.Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation.Then on Sunday, faced with mounting international criticism, Israel began a series of “tactical pauses” while allowing aid trucks to pass through two border crossings into Gaza, and Jordanian and Emirati planes to conduct airdrops.Deliveries have been ramped up, but the IPC said this effort would not prove enough unless aid agencies were granted “immediate, unimpeded” humanitarian access.”Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip,” it said, adding that 16 children under the age of five had died of hunger since July 17.According to Netanyahu’s office, the pause in military operations covers “key populated areas” between 10:00 am (0700 GMT) and 8:00 pm every day. Designated aid convoy routes will be secure from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm.COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body in charge of civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said more than 200 truckloads of aid were distributed on Monday.- Air strikes -Another 260 trucks were permitted to cross into Gaza to deposit aid at collection points, four UN tankers brought in fuel and 20 pallets of aid were airdropped from Jordanian and Emirati planes, COGAT said.Gaza’s civil defence agency said that Israeli air strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including women and children, in the central Nuseirat district.The Israeli military said it had “struck several terror targets in the central Gaza Strip”, but that the number of reported casualties “does not align with the information held by the (military)”.The Hamas-run territory’s health ministry said Israel’s campaign had now killed 60,034 people, most of them civilians.The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, the majority civilians, based on an AFP tally of official figures.