UK set to recognise Palestinian state once Trump state visit is over

The decision risks deepening tensions with Washington shortly after the US President's state visit

cancel email WhatsApp link share Share bookmark Save

share cancel email WhatsApp link bookmark

The UK is preparing to formally recognise a Palestinian state as soon as this weekend once Donald Trump returns to the US after his state visit concludes, The i Paper understands.

According to Government sources, recognition could be announced within days, once the US President has left the country.

The move is expected ahead of high-level foreign ministers’ meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which begin on Monday.

New Feature In Short Quick Stories. Same trusted journalism.

Officials are also understood to be anticipating that Trump will be asked about Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to advance Palestinian statehood during Thursday’s press conference at Chequers – which they also expect to overrun due to the President’s freewheeling style.

The decision to hold off announcing the move until after the President departs is another sign of the diplomatic pressures No 10 has juggled during the visit.

Formally announcing the decision during the trip could have risked deepening tensions with Washington, after Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered strong backing for Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza.

Rubio, standing alongside Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem earlier this week, said the US preferred a negotiated end to the war but added that “sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible”.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he did not know “too much” about Israel’s latest assault but warned that Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it used hostages as human shields.

By contrast, the UK has adopted a sharper tone. The Prime Minister and new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have both condemned what they called the “unbearable humanitarian catastrophe” unfolding in Gaza.

Cooper yesterday described Israel’s latest military action as “utterly reckless and appalling”, warning it would “only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians and endanger the remaining hostages”.

Starmer will not attend the meeting in New York next week, with the UK represented by Cooper and David Lammy, who is now Deputy Prime Minister but was foreign secretary until earlier this month.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said yesterday that recognition of Palestinian statehood was designed to protect the viability of a two-state solution. He said: “Statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and it is absolutely critical in protecting the viability of a two-state solution that we make clear that inalienable right. That is why we have chosen to advance our position and make clear to Israel they must change course.”

Keir Starmer will host the US President for lunch and talks at Chequers on Thursday (Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The issue has risen rapidly up the agenda for the UK-US mini-summit at Chequers after Israeli forces entered Gaza City.

Starmer is expected to urge Trump to do more to press for peace in the region, although Downing Street has stopped short of endorsing a UN commission finding that Israel has committed genocide. “Any formal determination is up to international courts,” his spokesman said.

The Prime Minister announced in late July that the UK would recognise Palestinian statehood in September at the UN General Assembly, unless the Israeli government took “substantive steps” to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire, renounce annexation of the West Bank, and commit to a long-term peace process delivering a two-state solution.

In a statement the Conservative MP said then recognition plan was a “desperate and insincere attempt” by Starmer to “placate his backbenchers and save his premiership by letting his left-wing MPs dictate Britain’s foreign policy”.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary, added: ““Starmer’s appeasement policy is self-serving because he faces a growing rebellion in his party. His gesture politics will not bring long lasting peace, stability or prosperity to this part of the Middle East.

“While Hamas continues its reign of terror and with hostages held in captivity, a two-state solution which brings lasting peace and security is not realistic. Starmer’s feeble government should work with the United States to formalise a plan that releases hostages, brings the desperately needed aid to the people of Gaza and eliminates the prospect of a terrorist organisation ever governing Gaza once and for all. Peace through strength cannot be achieved by capitulating to a terrorist led organisation.”