Starmer Faces Pressure from British Cabinet to Recognize Palestinian State

SadaNews Translation - The British newspaper The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing pressure from British government ministers to immediately recognize Palestine as a state, amid growing global outrage over Israel's killing of starving civilians in Gaza.

According to the report as translated by SadaNews: "It is believed that the Prime Minister received urging from several senior ministers in various Cabinet meetings over the past few months for the UK to take a leading role in issuing the recognition."

The report continued: "The UK plans to officially recognize Palestine as part of the peace process, but only in cooperation with other Western countries and 'at the point of maximum impact' - without clarifying what that impact might be."

It added: "However, there has been a growing sense of despair and horror within the Labour government in recent weeks due to Israel's killing of starving Palestinian civilians in Gaza and its attacks on humanitarian agencies."

One minister in the UK stated: "We say that recognizing the state of Palestine is a highly significant symbol, which can only be done once. But if not now, when?"

According to The Guardian, earlier this month, about 60 MPs from the Labour Party called on the UK to recognize Palestine as a state immediately, after the Israeli Defense Minister announced plans to force all residents of Gaza to live in a camp on the ruins of Rafah.

Israel is facing increasing international condemnation for its actions in Gaza, where UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that "the last lifelines keeping people alive in the sector are collapsing."

French President Emmanuel Macron also told British parliamentarians during a visit this month that the two-state solution is "the only way" to build peace and stability in the region. However, diplomats say he has faced resistance from allies such as the UK and Canada over his efforts.

France and Saudi Arabia are chairing a rescheduled international conference at the United Nations in New York later this month to discuss plans for post-war Gaza and preparations for the official recognition of Palestine.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who said he felt "horror and disgust" at scenes of starving Palestinians being shot at while searching for food, stated that the UK will "play its part" in achieving a two-state solution in the Middle East, including working with the French.