Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK will recognise a Palestinian state by Sunday – unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace.
If the UK follows through on this promise, it will be following in the footsteps of more than 140 other United Nations member states.
And it would become the second G7 country to recognise Palestine formally.
A growing number of nations have taken similar action in the last two years, as the conflict in Gaza has taken an increasingly heavy toll on the territory’s civilian population.
In 2024, three Western European countries – Norway, Spain and Ireland – officially recognised the Palestinian state.
Earlier this year, France became the first G7 nation to commit to it, a move that will be confirmed at the UN General Assembly in September.
Why does it matter?
A UN partition plan in 1947 called for the creation of a Jewish state alongside a Palestinian state, but Palestinians and the wider Arab world rejected it because it would have given them less than half of the land even though Palestinians made up two-thirds of the population.
The Arab-Israeli war the following year left Israel with even more territory, Jordan in control of the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and Egypt in control of Gaza.
In the 1967 war, Israel seized all three territories, and decades of on-again, off-again peace talks have failed.
The Palestinians have long sought an independent state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The idea of a land corridor linking Gaza and the West Bank through Israel was discussed in previous rounds of peace talks, but no serious or substantive peace negotiations have been held since 2009.
The United States and Britain, among others, have long backed the idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, but have previously said recognition should only come as part of a negotiated settlement.
What is the Palestinian state ?
The UK would not be recognising an existing state, just the possibility of one.
Recognition is a formal acknowledgment of Palestinian self-determination – rather than a committment to difficult practicalities such as the location of its borders or its capital city.
However, the symbolism would help enhance the Palestinians’ international standing and heaps more pressure on Israel to open negotiations on ending the war.
Recognition would mark a significant accomplishment for the Palestinians, who believe it confers international legitimacy on their struggle.
Israel condemns recognition, saying it rewards Hamas for its acts of ‘terror’.
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