Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure from senior cabinet ministers to immediately recognise Palestine as a state, amid growing global outrage over Israel's actions in Gaza. The prime minister has been urged by several ministers in recent cabinet meetings to take a leading role in issuing recognition, according to sources.
The UK has previously stated it would formally acknowledge Palestine as part of a peace process, in coordination with other Western countries and “at the point of maximum impact”. However, the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza has intensified calls for immediate action. “We say that recognising Palestinian statehood is a really important symbol that you can only do once. But if not now, then when?” one cabinet minister said.
Nearly 60 Labour MPs earlier this month demanded immediate recognition, following Israel's announcement of plans to force all Gaza residents into a camp on the ruins of Rafah. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has warned that “last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing”. French President Emmanuel Macron has also pushed for a two-state solution, but faced resistance from allies including Britain and Canada.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he felt “appalled, sickened” by scenes of starving Palestinians being shot while seeking food. He told the BBC the UK would “play its part” in reaching a two-state solution, but argued that recognition should be part of a process. “Why do we say that? It’s because we don’t just want to recognise symbolically, we want to recognise as a way of getting to the two states,” he said.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, understood to be among the ministers pushing for recognition, called for action “while there’s still a state of Palestine left to recognise”. He condemned Israel’s attack on a WHO facility in Deir al-Balah as “intolerable”, stating that such actions “go well beyond legitimate self-defence”. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn have also raised the issue in cabinet.
At a Commons committee, Starmer described the Gaza situation as “intolerable” and reiterated the UK’s commitment to recognising a Palestinian state “at a time most conducive to the prospects of peace”. France and Saudi Arabia are co-chairing an international conference at the UN later this month to discuss postwar plans for Gaza and preparations for formal recognition of Palestine.
