Britain poised to formally recognize Palestine on Sunday
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Keir Starmer is expected to confirm the move, having concluded that the situation in Gaza has worsened significantly in recent weeks.
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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts representatives of the Civil Nuclear industry at a reception at Lancaster House in London, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025 (AP)
The UK is expected to recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday, following "Israel's" failure to meet the conditions set out by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July.
Starmer will announce the recognition after concluding the humanitarian situation has deteriorated significantly in the past few weeks, despite pressure from the US and the families of Israeli captives.
Confirming plans for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce a decision on recognizing a Palestinian state later today, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the UK’s imminent recognition of a Palestinian state will not bring one into existence “overnight", stressing that recognition must be part of what he called a broader peace process.
“Any step to recognize it is because we wish to keep alive the prospects of a two-state solution,” Lammy told Sky News.
“We are some significant distance from two states,” he admitted.
He also called for the release of captives in Gaza and said Hamas cannot play any role in governing, adding that the Palestinian Authority must also make reforms.
Lammy also said the chance for a ceasefire in Gaza anytime soon “lies in tatters.”
After "Israel’s" strike on Hamas in Qatar earlier this month, Lammy admitted that it’s “very hard to see a ceasefire in the coming weeks."
Conditions set
In July, Starmer stated that he would recognize Palestine before the gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly next week if the situation did not improve.
Alongside the continued war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the UK government is alarmed at plans to accelerate Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which ministers fear will end any hope of a "two-state solution".
“It’s important to state that the recognition of a Palestinian state, it is a consequence of the serious expansion that we’re seeing in the West Bank, the settler violence that we’re seeing in the West Bank and the intention and indications that we’re seeing to build, for example, the E1 development that would run a coach and horses through the possibility of a two-state solution,” David Lammy, deputy FM, stated.
Conditions not met
High-level meetings at the UN summit involving world leaders begin on September 23, and Starmer has found himself at odds with Donald Trump’s administration over the move, with the latter being opposed to giving official recognition to the state.
The Labour leader previously suggested British recognition was conditional and he would refrain if "Israel" committed to a ceasefire and long-term sustainable peace that delivers a "two-state solution" and allowed the UN to restart the supply of aid.
All three conditions set out by Starmer are unlikely to be met, as "Israel" intensifies its war on Gaza and moves on with its plans to invade and occupy Gaza City, launching heavy airstrikes, bombardments, and bombings across the enclave.
'Israel' kills 92 people in one day in Gaza
At least 92 people were killed on September 20 as the Israeli occupation launched heavy bombardments across the Gaza Strip, targeting residential areas and shelters for displaced civilians, according to local authorities.
Israeli quadcopter drones reportedly dropped grenades on Abu Assi School in the al-Shati refugee camp, where displaced families had taken shelter, killing one person and wounding several others. Two more people were killed when a house belonging to the Hassan family near Al-Firouz Towers was hit.
Fourteen people, including four children and five women, were killed in an airstrike on a residential block belonging to the Daghmash family in the Sabra area, south of Gaza City, and rescue teams said several others remained trapped under rubble amid major difficulties accessing the site.
In the al-Shati camp, four people were killed and others were injured when Israeli artillery hit the Hamid intersection, and another strike from an Israeli drone killed one person and injured others in the al-Sahaba area of the al-Daraj neighborhood.
