Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September — unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace.
Starmer called ministers together for a rare summertime cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza.
He told them that Britain will recognize a Palestinian state before the United Nations General Assembly, “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution.”
Starmer’s remarks come five days after French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would become the first among the G7 to recognize a Palestinian state at the General Assembly next September.
Both Israel and Hamas are facing pressure at home and abroad to reach a deal following almost two years of war, with the humanitarian situation inside Gaza deteriorating and Israelis worried about the conditions in which hostages are being held.
When asked by a CBC News reporter if Canada will recognize Palestinian statehood, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will continue to support a two-state solution with ‘a free and viable Palestine living in peace and side-by-side in peace and security with Israel.’
Asked last week whether Canada would follow France, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will continue to support a two-state solution with “a free and viable Palestine living in peace and side-by-side in peace and security with Israel.”
Days later, Ottawa announced $10 million in funding for the Palestinian Authority’s preparations to lead a globally recognized country that includes Gaza and the West Bank. The federal government is also adding $30 million to its humanitarian funding for desperate Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Macron’s decision, saying that such a move “rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy.”
“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,” Netanyahu said in a post on X.
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