Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday Britain was prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly in response to growing public anger over the images of starving children in Gaza.
Starmer spoke a day after talks in Scotland with U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he did “not mind” if Britain recognised a Palestinian state, though Washington – Israel’s closest ally – has long declined to do so.
Britain, if it acts, would become the second Western power on the U.N. Security Council to do so after France last week, reflecting Israel’s deepening isolation over its conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, where a humanitarian disaster has set in and the Palestinian death toll has risen above 60,000.
Starmer said Britain would make the move unless Israel took substantive steps to allow more aid to enter Gaza, made clear there will be no annexation of the West Bank and committed to a long-term peace process that delivers a “two-state solution” – a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel.
“The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering,” Starmer told reporters. “Now, in Gaza, because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime. The suffering must end.”
Starmer held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before making his announcement, said a source, who asked not to be named.
In response, Israel’s foreign ministry said in a post on X that Britain’s move constitutes a “reward for Hamas” and would harm efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
The sight of emaciated Gaza children has shocked the world in recent days. Earlier on Tuesday, a hunger monitor warned that worst-case scenario of famine was unfolding in Gaza and immediate action was needed to avoid widespread death.
We always hoped this would happen for the girls. So it’s really emotional because you just…it’s all those players that have come before,
Israel has denied pursuing a policy of starvation. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday the situation in Gaza was “tough” but there were lies circulating about starvation there.
With international criticism intensifying, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the U.N. World Food Programme said it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid.
Starmer’s decision marks a striking reversal in policy after he last week disappointed many in his party by rejecting calls to recognise a Palestinian state, saying the timing must be right as part of a wider peace process.
In recent days, Starmer has been increasingly vocal about the crisis in Gaza, saying this week that the people there faced an “absolute catastrophe” and the British public were “revolted” by the scenes of mass hunger and desperation.