LAST UPDATE | 29 Jul 2025

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has said the UK will recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, unless the Israeli government reaches a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Labour leader made the announcement this afternoon following a cabinet meeting to discuss the situation amid global anger at starvation in the territory. 

Today, the UN’s World Food Programme said famine is “now” unfolding in Gaza, with thousands of children malnourished and hunger-related deaths on the rise among the youngest.

Starmer has faced mounting pressure after French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would formally recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September.

Last week, over 221 MPs – the majority Labour, along with Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and Independents – signed a letter calling on the British government to take the step. 

Speaking from Downing Street this afternoon, Starmer said he had always committed to recognising a Palestinian state as part of a wider goal towards a two-state solution in the Middle East. 

“With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act,” he said. 

He said he needs to see “at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day” to deliver aid.

“But ultimately, the only way to bring this humanitarian crisis to an end is through a long-term settlement. So we are supporting the US, Egyptian and Qatari efforts to secure a vital ceasefire,” he said. 

“That ceasefire must be sustainable and it must lead to a wider peace plan, which we are developing with our international partners. This plan will deliver security and proper governance in Gaza and pave the way for negotiations on a two-state solution.”

BREAKING: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK will recognise Palestine as a state by the United Nations meeting in September, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.

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Starmer said the UK’s goal “remains a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.”

Israel accuse Starmer of appeasing ‘jihad’

Israel 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 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the announcement, telling him “the situation in Gaza was intolerable,” a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that the UK called on Israel to lift all restrictions on aid.

In a statement, Netanyahu said: “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.”

Asked by reporters why Starmer had decided to make the announcement now, he said he wanted to ensure “that this plays a part in changing the conditions on the ground”.

“I’ve always been interested in what is going to make a material difference, how can we work with our allies most effectively, and that’s why this comes as a part of a peace plan that we’ve been working on for some considerable time.”

Starmer added that he had discussed this eight-part plan with France and Germany, along with “many other countries”.  

Asked why the recognition was conditional and how confident he was that a ceasefire could be reached by September, Starmer said his primary aim “is to change the situation on the ground for people who desperately need change”. 

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“I am particularly concerned that the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many, many years, and therefore, it should be seen in both of those contexts,” he added. 

A readout from the earlier cabinet meeting states that the UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September unless the Israeli government reaches a ceasefire in Gaza, makes clear there is no annexation of the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution.

Starmer told his cabinet there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. He said Hamas needs to release hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and take no part in the government of Gaza.

He also committed to make an assessment ahead of the UN General Assembly on how far the parties have met these steps before making a final decision, ensuring that no one side will have a veto.

“He reiterated that he had taken this action to protect the viability of the two-state solution, and that the immediate focus must be to get more aid urgently into Gaza, and that work would continue to bring allies on board with the plan that delivers a long-term settlement to the conflict,” the readout states.

Starmer recalled the British government from their summer recess to discuss the situation.

The UK is working with Jordan on plans to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children in need of medical assistance.

With reporting from Press Association and AFP