Israel has accused Keir Starmer of rewarding Hamas’s ‘monstrous terrorism’ after he bowed to Labour pressure to recognise a Palestinian state.
Benjamin Netanyahu reacted furiously to Sir Keir’s ultimatum to make peace with the terror group which inflicted the October 7 atrocities.
In a major diplomatic shift, the PM said the Government will recognise Palestine within weeks unless Israel ends the war in Gaza and agrees to drop its opposition to a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis.
But Mr Netanyahu warned: ‘A jihadist state on Israel’s border today will threaten Britain tomorrow,’ adding: ‘Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.’
Speaking after an emergency Cabinet meeting on the issue, Sir Keir said the ‘terrible suffering’ in Gaza meant it was ‘the moment to act’ to inject new life into a peace process which has been on hold since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The move is designed to quell growing anger within Labour over the government’s stance on the conflict. But Sir Keir’s intervention provoked an angry response from all sides on Tuesday, seemingly satisfying no-one.
US State department spokesman Tammy Bruce said Sir Keir’s remarks were a ‘slap in the face for the victims of October 7’.
‘It allows it to continue. It gives one group hope, and that’s Hamas. It is a rewarding of that kind of behavior,’ she said, adding: ‘There’s one group that benefits from the images, the reality of the horribleness, and that’s Hamas. And so there’s a reason why they don’t cooperate and stop.’
Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir had put internal Labour Party management before the national interest.
The Tory leader said: ‘When the country is looking for answers on asylum hotels, the cost of living is getting worse, and doctors are threatening to go on strike again – further endangering lives, it’s disgraceful that Keir Starmer recalled his Cabinet to try and sort out a political problem for the Labour Party.
‘Recognising a Palestinian state won’t bring the hostages home, won’t end the war and won’t get aid into Gaza. This is political posturing at its very worst.’
Fellow Tory Ben Obese-Jecty said the PM’s move was ‘pure virtue signalling by Keir Starmer… after being railroaded by his MPs’.
The PM’s decision follows the lead of Emmanuel Macron earlier this month, who said France would recognise a Palestinian state at a United Nations summit in New York in September.
Sir Keir said the UK was working to the same timetable in an effort to restart efforts for a two-state solution which have been in the deep freeze for almost two years.
Donald Trump on Tuesday denied Sir Keir had briefed him on the idea of recognising Palestine when the two leaders held talks in Scotland on Monday.
The White House pointed to comments made by Mr Trump at a joint press conference on Monday, when he said: ‘I’m not going to take a position. I don’t mind him [Starmer] taking a position. I’m looking for getting people fed right now.’
But speaking before Sir Keir’s announcement, Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel warned that recognising Palestine while Hamas is still in control in Gaza would be ‘like letting the Nazis have a victory after World War Two’.
Sir Keir rang Benjamin Netanyahu to warn him of the change in the UK’s position, but Downing Street declined to comment on the Israeli leader’s response.
The dramatic move came just days after the PM rejected calls to recognise Palestine immediately. Last week, Labour sources suggested Britain would not take the step until a ceasefire was in place and Hamas returned the remaining Israeli hostages seized on October 7.
But Labour pressure on the PM has mounted in recent days. More than 250 MPs across all parties have signed a letter calling on him to take the step and senior Cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband and Wes Streeting have been warning him he was in danger of leaving it too late.
Technology secretary Peter Kyle yesterday said the Palestinian people need to be ‘rewarded for what they’ve been through and have the tools at their disposal to move them towards the kind of peace, stability and dignity that every citizen in every country is owed’.
In a hastily-arranged TV statement in No 10 earlier this evening after consulting his Cabinet, many of whom dialled in from elsewhere, Sir Keir said the shocking recent images of starving children in Gaza ‘will stay with us for a lifetime’.
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.
‘With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.’The PM said the government would recognise Palestine in September ‘unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to 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 said demands on Hamas to release the hostages, agree a ceasefire and disarm remained ‘unchanged’.
The PM did not appear to link recognition of Palestine to any concessions by Hamas, but government sources insisted that the actions of the terrorist group would be ‘assessed’ alongside those of Israel before a final decision is taken next month.
With neither side likely to meet the tests set by the PM in the coming weeks, the Government is now on course to recognise Palestine while part of the territory is still run by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group in the UK. Sir Keir yesterday insisted Hamas could ‘play no part’ in running Gaza.
It remains unclear exactly what borders Britain would recognise for Palestine or who it would deal with as the legitimate government.
Critics pointed out that the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who held talks with Sir Keir by phone earlier this evening, has not held an election for almost 20 years.
Labour MPs pushing for recognition of Palestinian statehood also voiced disappointment about Sir Keir’s decision to give Israel a chance to head it off, albeit with conditions that are highly unlikely to be met.
The senior Labour MP Sarah Champion, who co-ordinated the mass letter by MPs, said she was ‘delighted and relieved’ by the breakthrough. But she said she was ‘troubled (that) our recognition appears conditional on Israel’s actions’.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is now setting up a left-wing rival to Labour, accused Sir Keir of treating Palestinian statehood as a ‘bargaining chip’ when it should be seen as ‘an inalienable right of the Palestinian people’.
He added: ‘Our demands on this shameful government remain the same: end all arms sales to Israel, impose widespread sanctions, and stop the genocide, now.’
The Labour Friends of Israel group said it was committed to a two-state solution but warned that ‘recognition of a Palestinian state outside of a meaningful peace process will change nothing on the ground and will damage our reputation as an impartial broker, reducing our ability to bring about a sustainable long-term peace.’
