Starmer to Announce UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid Intensifying Gaza Crisis

Shift in British Foreign Policy Sparks Tensions with Israel, Conservatives, and Hostage Families

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the formal recognition of a Palestinian state in a statement scheduled for Sunday, September 21, 2025, afternoon. The decision, long debated in British politics, represents a significant shift in the United Kingdom’s foreign policy stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

In July, Starmer had warned that the UK would adjust its position unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and committed to a peace process that envisions a Palestinian state co-existing alongside Israel. Those conditions have not been met, with Israel’s leadership rejecting the idea since the outbreak of war following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage.

The announcement has already sparked fierce backlash from the Israeli government, families of hostages still held in Gaza, and members of the Conservative Party. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the move, saying that recognizing Palestinian statehood “rewards terror.”

For decades, successive UK governments maintained that recognition should only come as part of a negotiated peace settlement, ensuring maximum diplomatic impact. However, Starmer’s ministers argue that Britain has a moral responsibility to act, keeping hopes for a long-term solution alive despite faltering ceasefire efforts.

The urgency has been heightened by the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Government officials cited harrowing reports and images of starvation, displacement, and violence. Starmer himself previously described conditions in Gaza as “intolerable.”

Israel’s most recent ground operation in Gaza City has been described by a UN official as “cataclysmic,” forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee. International anger also grew after Israel reportedly carried out an airstrike on a Hamas negotiating team in Qatar, further undermining peace talks.

The UK’s recognition of Palestine is expected to be a defining moment in Starmer’s premiership, one that could reshape London’s role in the Middle East and test its diplomatic relations with Israel, the US, and the wider international community.

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