UK commits to aiding Palestinians but won’t yet recognize state
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday committed to increasing British aid efforts in Gaza and advocated for a peaceful two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
However, Starmer did not announce the U.K.’s recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state a day after France said it would do so.
“We’re scaling up our work. We are accelerating efforts to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, bringing them to the U.K. for specialist medical treatment,” Starmer said in a video posted to the social platform X.
“News that Israel will allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza has come far too late, but we will do everything we can to get aid in via this route. We are already working urgently with the Jordanian authorities to get British aid onto planes and into Gaza,” he added.
France became the first G7 nation to say it would recognize Palestine as a state on Thursday.
“The French people want peace in the Middle East. It is up to us, the French, together with the Israelis, the Palestinians, and our European and international partners, to demonstrate that it is possible,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the gesture.
“A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it. Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel,” he wrote on X.
Israeli leaders have isolated tens of thousands of families and children in the West Bank, leading to reports of starvation and a desperate need for foreign aid.
On Friday, Starmer recommitted the U.K.’s involvement in ceasefire talks and a long-lasting peace agreement.
“Alongside our closest allies, I am working on a pathway to peace in the region, focused on the practical solutions that will make a real difference to the lives of those who are suffering in this war,” Starmer said in the Friday post.
“That pathway will set out concrete steps to turn the desperately needed ceasefire into a lasting peace. Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I’m unequivocal about that, but it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis,” he added.
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