Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure from senior cabinet ministers to immediately recognise Palestine as a state, amid growing international outrage over Israel's military actions in Gaza. Multiple ministers have urged the UK to take a leading role in issuing recognition, according to government sources.
The UK has previously stated it would formally acknowledge Palestine as part of a peace process, at a time deemed 'most conducive to peace'. However, a cabinet minister questioned: 'If not now, then when?' The call for immediate action follows Israel's killing of starving civilians and attacks on humanitarian sites, which Health Secretary Wes Streeting described as 'intolerable'.
Streeting told MPs on Tuesday that he deplored Israel's attacks on healthcare workers and civilians, adding that the UK should recognise Palestine 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. He is understood to be among several cabinet members, including Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, who have raised the issue in recent meetings.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was 'appalled, sickened' by scenes of starving Palestinians being shot while seeking food. He reiterated the government's commitment to a two-state solution, but stressed that recognition must be part of a process. 'We don't just want to recognise symbolically, we want to recognise as a way of getting to the two states,' he told the BBC.
The pressure comes as nearly 60 Labour MPs demand immediate recognition, and as France and Saudi Arabia co-chair a UN conference later this month to discuss postwar plans for Gaza. French President Emmanuel Macron has urged allies to support a two-state solution, but has faced resistance from Britain and Canada.
